Seeking Happiness (Percy Jackson)
by bookwormbeauty11
Summary: Happily ever after comes at the end of the book, and our stories just begun.
1. Chapter 1 Annabeth

I tried not to giggle as Percy ran his hand down my thigh under the table. We were eating dinner with our friends on the Argo II. Everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves unaware of constant playful teasing happening beneath the surface of the table.

I had to bite my lip, only when his hand started at the hem of my shirt did I elbow him in his side. He laughed and moved his arm and draped it over my shoulder. He rested his forehead on my temple and whispered, "Wait five minutes after I leave and then meet me in my room." I turned to look at him, I was about to say no, but I got caught in his sea green eyes. He gave me his mischievous grin and kissed me the tip of my nose. "hey guys I'm still a little waterlogged from earlier, I think I'm going to head to bed early." A chorus of goodnight's followed him as he got up and left, winking at me right before the door shut behind him.

I could feel the anxiety begin to take hold of me. being the daughter of Athena I tended to over think everything. Every decision was a product of a lot of careful thinking. Did i really want to lose my virginity tonight? To the sea gods son, my mother would never approve. I don't know why I care about what my mom would think, shes never been a motherly figure. I could feel myself begin to give into my natural state and begin to analyze every angle.

I know I love Percy. I've been to the pits of hell with that boy and back. I couldn't imagine doing it with any other person, ever. Well I guess that wasn't exactly true. There would have been a time when I would have told myself a certain blonde boy would have been deserving, I couldn't even bring myself to think his name.

Percy back to Percy. I love him, he loves me. Oh my gods I'm going to do this. Tonight. "Annabeth? You alright? you look like you're going to be sick." Hazel was looking at me with concern. "Yeah, I don't know I was just thinking i felt a little off." Leo laughed, "A little ? After what you and Percy have been through we should be happy you're only a little off." Jason smacked him on the back of the head, "I thought we said we weren't going to bring that up…. ever." I stood up to leave, "Honestly guys its okay, I'm just going to go to bed" I timidly stood up and left the room.

My legs began to shake as I got closer to Percy's room. I paused right outside with my hand on the doorknob. I took a deep breath right as Percy opened the door. He was fresh out of the shower I could tell because a few drops of water fell from black hair. water seemed to be the only thing besides me that could keep him calm these days. he was always with me or in the water.

A drop of water fell and landed on his nose, it continued to fall down his face, his neck. I followed it as it ran down his bare chest covered in scars from his many battles, proof that he had fought and he had survived. He had a lean muscular body, even more pronounced now that he had become a young man and started working out more.

Percy's hand cupped my cheek and our eyes met. A clash of stormy grey and sea green. This was really about to happen. He bent down and pressed his lips to mine. First gently but as the passion grew, the more harder it got. The door closed behind me and he pushed me against it. He stopped breathing heavy he put his forehead on mine as his hands with the softest touch lifted my shirt above my head. He kissed me as his fingers found the hook of my bra. As my bra fell to floor he picked me up started to kiss my neck. I wrapped my legs around his waste and wove my fingers into his hair.

He spun around and gently placed me onto the bed. He kissed so lightly I almost didn't feel it. He started at my breasts and slowly went down, down, down. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as a chill went down my spine. When he got to my shorts he used his teeth the pull them off. I silently thanked the gods i had shaved this morning, along with the fact i had no clean underwear so I had to go without today. That made it a lot easier for Percy. When he had successfully gotten my shorts off he gave me that smile again then it happened.

I didn't even know how he knew how to do all this, I'm assuming porn because I've been right next to him for years, I would have known if he had been having sex. He stopped and came back up to look at me. "Are you ready?" I blushed and took a deep breath, "yes, I'm ready." "You sure?" I didn't even hesitate, "Yes." He nodded then he did it. He thrust into me. He was very gentle, I closed my eyes and bit my lip. I was scared the others would hear us. He thrust deeper and deeper, harder and harder. It was a bit painful at first, but then it was amazing. It felt so good. I began to move with him, thrusting in unison.

Unfortunately due to our lack of experience we were finished pretty soon. But we were happy with ourselves. We giggled totally bringing us back to Earth. We spooned together until we fell asleep.

I shot up in a cold sweat, still naked with Percy arm tightly wrapped around me. I could feel the tears running down my cheeks. I looked over and it looked like Percy wasn't sleeping any better, his face was pinched into an uncomfortable looking scowl. It wasn't unusual for us to have nightmares.

Take tonight for example, it was so vivid, I was leaning over Percy's unconscious body in Tartarus. When we fell he held me tight and took most of the blow as we hit the bottom. Blood flowing from one of his ears I cried and panicked then a Deep voice laughed. Percy needed water, If I could get him to water he would get better. I didn't want to leave him though. So I picked him up and carried him around piggy back style.

I dragged him for what felt like miles until I found water. It was no more than a puddle, but it would have to do. I stuck his hand in it and waited. I curled up into his body and prayed. I prayed to all the gods, either bring him back or take me now.

As I laid there next to him now it brought me back to then. I kissed him on the forehead, and watched his face slowly relax. He wrapped his arms around my waste and pulled me to him. He rested his chin on the top of my head and slowly our breathing, the rhythm of our heart beats slowly became one. And we were safe, we…. we were happy.


	2. Chapter 2 Percy

Annabeth and I had sex last night, it was the first time for me, and I'm assuming her first time as well. I woke up this morning rested and happy, which is rare. I had the same nightmare I always had but it was brief, and the more I had it the more guilty I felt. But it still didn't dampen my mood. But with every passing night the guilt grew, and the fear dwindled.

I was running, from what I don't know other than it had a deep loud voice. It laughed as I tripped over something. As soon as my body hit the ground pain shot through the entire surface of my body. I looked to see what tripped me. I saw blonde hair. My heart grew cold, I knew that blonde hair. I crawled over to the body and looked into those eyes. Those still eyes, the eyes I knew so well. But it couldn't be, I went to feel for a pulse with tears in my eyes. "Percy?!" Annabeth's voice sounded in the distance. "Percy ! Help!" I used every ounce of strength I had to get up. To go to her. Taking one last look at Luke's body, when those eyes that I thought were empty blinked. Then I ran for it.

Annabeth's head was resting on my chest, breathing heavy. She looked so innocent and peaceful. I never wanted to move her, I didn't want to shatter this moment. But unfortunately… my arm was falling asleep. I sat for a while thinking back to the nightmare. I never told her about what happened that night. I assumed it was some kind of trick. Just one more demented trick to clutter our heads.. to slow us down.

I brushed her golden hair out of her face, and gently shook her shoulder. She didn't budge, still sound asleep. I knew it was wrong but I just had too. I licked my finger and gave my girlfriend a wet willy. She jumped and fell out of bed. "PERCY!" i couldn't stop laughing. "I… I'm…. I'm sorry but I had too!" I continued to laugh even when she jumped on top of me straddling me play punching me in the shoulder.

"Seaweed Brain I'm going to get you for that !" I grabbed her fist right before it hit me and sat up, leaving my face inches from hers. "Babe, its hard to take you serious when you're naked." She blushed, and damn it was cute. "Percy…. I think you're uh… getting a little excited…"  
Oh gosh now its my turn to blush, wait no I'm a man now, men don't blush. Do they? "Am I supposed to say sorry? Because I'm pretty sure that just means I find you attractive." Okay great save Jackson.

"Well as long as I'm the only one that you find attractive than we should be fine." It was 7 in the morning. Everyone usually met for breakfast around 8. It looked like Annabeth was thinking about the same thing, "So. We have an hour?" I chuckled, "I was thinking about a good long shower…" I picked her up and headed to the bathroom, "nothing could be more perfect."


	3. Chapter 3 Piper

We were all sitting around the table, the boys were digging into their breakfast. Jason was sitting next to me enjoying his waffles. He took a bite way to big and syrup started to drip down his chin. I laughed and grabbed a napkin, "That's real cute Jason." He looked at me, his brilliant blue eyes twinkled.

"Oh I'm cute, am I ?" Then he went in for a kiss and smeared syrup all over my cheek. I swatted at his shoulder , "Oh my gosh Jason, you got syrup all over me !" Leo looked up from his breakfast, "Sounds kinky." He wagged his eyebrows at us before going back to his breakfast. Jason blushed, "Leo can you not?"

"Sorry man, just trying to break the silence. Its really quiet this morning." He stretched out his arm and pilled up his plate with sausage and bacon.

I leaned into Jason's side, and he instinctively wrapped his arm around me. Conversation began to pick up and the tension slowly released from his shoulders. Jason always had this sense of leadership. To most people he might come across as stiff. But I know better, I know how goofy he gets when he tries to act romantic, how sweet he is, even how funny he can be when he lets his guard down.

I laced my fingers through his and kissed his cheek. I was starting to worry about Percy and Annabeth. They went to bed before everyone, and yet they're not a breakfast yet. Being the daughter of Aphrodite, I wasn't totally clueless as to what activities they may or may not be partaking in. But I still would have thought they would have been here by now.

Just as I was about to voice my opinion to Jason they walked in, together as always. They were inseparable. Not that I blame them, if I had been though what they had, I would never let go of Jason's hand. I subconsciously leaned in closer to him, and he responded by squeezing my hand and rubbing his thumb over my hand.

"Good morning everybody." Percy seemed to walk with just a bit of pep in his step. He took the seat on the other side of Jason. They chatted for a bit, Percy was one of the only other demigods that Jason respected as an equal. They tended to argue over the little things, but I could see them growing into really good friends.

As they talked I thought about last night, about the big step we almost took. I thought he would have been mad at me, but Jason really was sweeter then I would have given him credit for. After everyone had gone to bed he had sneaked over to my room.

I was in my usual pajamas, one of Jason's t-shirts and boy short cut underwear. I was laying on my side when he walked in, he quickly pulled off his jeans and his purple shirt and crawled into bed next to me. This wouldn't be the first time we've slept together, and by sleep together I mean literally just sleep in the same bed. But last night wasn't the usual cuddling we usually did.

He pulled me tight to him, at first I just thought we were going to spoon, but then he started to kiss my neck. Then his hand went up my thigh, paused at the hem of my shirt, but then boldly continued. He cupped my breast as he kept working on that hickey I was sure I was going to have in the morning. He picked me up and set me in his lap straddling him and started kissing me. Weaving his fingers through my hair.

We were getting pretty heated, a voice in the back of my head kept saying this was normal, teenagers were supposed to do stuff like this. I had a suspicion that was just the lustful Aphrodite in me, because every other part of me was yelling stop.

When he went for my underwear I grabbed his wrist and hesitantly pulled my lips from his. "I'm sorry, I just cant. Not now, I'm not ready." I couldn't look him in the eye, so he cupped my cheek, "Don't worry about it, hey I mean it look at me." I looked up and he had just a hint of a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. "I love you no matter what." I could still hear the words, "_I love you"_ I couldn't think about it without getting butterflies.

I didn't even realize they were done talking until Jason took my hand shattering my thought of the previous night and lead me out of the top deck. He stopped at a pile of pillows, "I thought we could cloud watch." I smiled, "You are the son of the sky god after all."

We sat down facing each other. "So what were you and Percy talking about?" He didn't look me in the eye, "Honestly... Strategy." I didn't like the tone of his voice, "Strategy? For what?" He looked up, straight into my eyes, " For battle... We're going to be attacked tonight."


	4. Chapter 4 Jason

I sat on a pile of pillows and watched her… watched her pace, watched her panic, watched her stare into that dagger of hers. She tried to glimpse the future, what was coming tonight. Of course even if she knew what was coming I would never let her fight. Percy and I had our plan, Put the girls below deck, maybe even lock them in if we have too. We know what's coming, and there's no way we're going to let them get hurt.

I finally had enough of the pacing, I walked over to her and took her hand and pulled her into a hug. "Look all of this worrying isn't going to help anyone. We're all going to meet below deck and figure out what the plan is." She nodded her head and squeezed my hand. I felt really bad tricking her like this. But I'm a leader, I do what's best for the people I love whether they understand it or not.

I lead her to Annabeth's room, the designated "_holding cell_" for the night. We were the last ones in there, everyone grouped together hushing reassurances. Then there was Leo, tinkering in the corner keeping to himself. I sat down in the only remaining chair and pulled Piper into my lap. "Look Piper, whatever happens next, just remember I love you. I don't know what I would do without you." She went to respond but I just pressed a finger to her lips. I nodded to Percy, giving him the signal.

He nodded back, letting go of Annabeth's hand. "So as you know, we called everyone here to… uh… _discus_… our battle plans." He walked over to the door of the cabin and the rest of the guys followed. Annabeth gave us a curious look, "Percy… What's the Plan?" He gave her a pained look, "This is the plan."

We all ambushed out the door. Percy started barking orders. "Leo guard the door, remember what we talked about! No one in, and no one out, under any circumstances! Frank go scout, turn into whatever you want but you make sure you report back to me or Jason when you know anything. Jason… Do your thing." I winked and flew out into the air.I had to keep reminding myself that Percy was my equal. It usually would rub me the wrong way when he would try and undermine my authority. But tonight, what's coming… it's coming for him. Tonight is his battle, it's his enemy, but there's no way I'm going to let him fight it alone.

From my bird's eye view I could see him on the main deck, concentrating on the water no doubt. There was one time before when we made a pretty wicked storm together, if it came to it we knew we had that in our back pocket. I wouldn't mind just starting out with that, but Percy insisted that he needed to at least try to win this one on his own.

It was starting to get a little tiresome and boring, just flying in circles looking for any sign of attack. I was starting to descend back to the boat when a chill shot down my spine. Something was wrong, I don't know how I know, I just do.

As soon as my feet hit the deck Frank and Percy rushed towards me. Percy eyes were crazy the way they always were before a fight, due to lack of discipline if you ask me. But that's not all that important right now. "Jason, he's almost here! Frank saw his ship about half a mile west of here." I took a deep breath, there was no doubt in my mind we could win this fight. The only liability would be Percy's biggest weakness. I sent a quick prayer to the gods to send him strength, "Alright, I guess now we wait."

We stood back with all three of our backs to each other. Within minutes I saw the nose of the ship nudging its way through the light fog. Percy warned me that the ship had some pretty magical qualities, like for one wherever it goes heavy fog follows. Seems pretty cowardly if you ask me, hiding in the fog. They didn't make any move to attack, they simply pulled up beside us.  
"Jason, Frank, whatever happens he's mine. Don't interfere unless I tell you to." He's so stubborn, "Yeah, whatever you say man. "

A plank came through the fog and hit the deck with a loud thwack. We all jumped at the sound, he laughed as he immerged on our side of the plank. I assumed he would be a lot bigger, but according Percy he was pretty dangerous.

"Percy! How long has it been? You know since you killed me?" Percy's nostrils flared, "Luke, this isn't you. You know I didn't kill you, it wasn't my fault!" The man seemed to think that was funny, "Oh? And how about when you left me in Tartarus? You knew I was alive, yet you left me there. I doubt you even told Annabeth." Whatever he saw on Percy's face must have been confirmation, "What, don't tell me you're scared a little competition Jackson? Scared Annabeth may prefer me over you?" Percy drew riptide, "I'm not scared, not of you Luke?" Luke drew his own sword back biter, "Oh but you are scared Jackson, you're scared of losing her. Don't worry after tonight you won't have to worry about it. I'll kill you and she'll be mine…"

Percy lunged at him, and a song of clashing swords began. Luke definitely had an upper hand when it came to combat but not by much. I wanted to help so bad but Percy told me not to. It would be so easy just to send a little breeze slowly pushing towards the edge. If Percy could just get him into the water.

Just then eight hellhounds stepped around them, encircling them baring their teeth at me and Frank. "What you didn't think I'd let you get near the water did you? I'm not that stupid, and plus you have brought friends, I thought it only appropriate that I bring my own." The scar on his face twitched near his eye as he lunged at Percy and the song resumed.

I looked around but I couldn't find Frank, but then I counted and realized there were now nine hell hounds. One of them must be Frank. I drew my gladius and started at the first hell hound. They were strong and quick. Some I slew by sword others by storm. But by the time it was almost over I was bloody and on my knees trying to catch my breath. Frank was working on the last one, when I heard him cry out.

It was definitely Percy, and it definitely wasn't a good sign.

Percy was on his hands and knees blood flowing from numerous wounds, the worst one right above his eyebrow flowing over his scalp. His black hair matted with sweat and blood. I tried to help but I literally couldn't move I was literally drained, I was beginning to pass out.

Tears were in Percy's eyes "Luke, you got to be in there somewhere. The REAL you. Come on man !" Luke just chuckled, "This is me Percy. It's ironic really, you could have saved me. But you ran to save Annabeth instead. Well now I'm going to kill you both..." Luke raised his sword above his head and I watched helplessly as the sword came down.


	5. Chapter 5 Annabeth

I wanted to cry, but I had to stay strong. I'm the daughter of Athena I can get us out of this. I just needed to relax, and do what I do best, I need to think. I have no clue what's going on up there, but I cant lose Percy, I can never be separated from him again.

I used that as my motivation as I began to think out loud. "Alright we know Leo's guarding the door which probably means there's a pretty good chance we're never going to pick that lock. So if we cant get out that means..." I suddenly knew what we had to do.

"Hazel, You're going to get us out of here." She gave me a perplexed look, "What? How?" I walked over to her, "Do you still have those blackouts?" She shook her head still looking confused, "No not for a while now, why?" I pulled her close and whispered in her ear making sure Piper couldn't hear us, "Okay here's what I'm thinking. You're going to pretend to have a blackout. Leo... well we all know Leo has a soft spot for you, so he'll have to come in to make sure you're okay. At which point I'll make my escape."

This plan had to work, it was the only thing we had, if it didn't work we were screwed because he would know what we were up to. I mouthed to Hazel, "One...Two...THREE!" She pretended to faint making a very convincing and painful sounding noise. Piper ran to her side, bless her heart she didn't know it was fake, "Oh My Gosh! Hazel are you okay? Hazel? LEO! HELP! Hazel's having another blackout! LEO!"

For a moment I didn't think he was going to come in. Right as I lost hope the door swung open. "Sorry the lock took forever. The guy who made this is a genius." I rolled my eyes and slowly crept towards the door. As he and Piper panicked over hazel I ran through the door and up the stairs.

There was blood everywhere, Jason was on his hands and knees reaching out to... No...this isn't happening. Percy was sprawled out on the deck, riptide out of reach and Luke was standing over him. "Luke..." It came out barley audible and nobody heard me. His sword back biter was raised above his head. It was about to come down, down on Percy's neck. I was frozen, the tears flooded out, and I couldn't stop them. The sword was coming down, There was no time for me to stop him, I was about to lose Percy.

Right as I thought all hope was lost, the sword seconds away from taking my love away from me forever. Percy rolled over to his back, stretched out his hand, and a wave came crashing over the side. It wasn't enough to stop Luke but it was enough to make him miss. His sword came down on Percy's shoulder. Percy grabbed Luke's ankle and pulled him down, he rolled on top of him. He put his knees on Luke's shoulders pinning him to the floor.

Percy screamed out in pain as he grabbed the sword and pulled it from his shoulder and tossed it out of Luke's reach. Luke laughed, "I always knew you were weak Jackson. You couldn't kill me then and you cant kill me now!" Percy punched him in the jaw, "You were being controlled before ! And you're being controlled now!"

"None of that matters now! I needed you in Tartarus. You _left_ me there Percy! You knew I was alive and you left me!" Percy's eyes started to water, "I'm sorry! I was scared, okay is that what you want to hear?! Something took Annabeth, I felt hopeless, I thought I failed her. That's the only thing that scares me. I'm scared that at any moment something could happen to her and I wont be able to do anything about it. No, I didn't tell her I found you, because I was scared what it would do to her. It took her months to get over your death, and it pained me to watch her hurt like that. I _was_ scared Luke... But I'm not anymore."

My heart was pounding, I never knew about any of this. I wanted to kiss him and punch him at the same time. Percy stood up and kicked Luke in the head, knocking him out. His shoulders slumped as all the tension released. His shirt was soaked with blood, he turned towards me, his face was pale, the wound in his shoulder pooling blood. Our eyes met.

"Annabeth? What are you doing here? You're not supposed... to be here." He fell to his knees, and I ran over to catch him before he completely fell. Tears were playing at the edges of my eyes, "You're so stupid, you know that? Stupid!" He chuckled, "That's why I have you... wise girl."

Then his eyes closed. And like he always does, without fail he started to drool.


	6. Chapter 6 Percy

When I woke up the only thing I could think was... Ouch. I felt like I had been put through a meat grinder, leaving every inch of me mashed to bits. My head was swimming, with what I hope was just a bad dream. But due to amount of pain I'm in, I'm going to have to guess it was real.

I slowly opened my eyes, it was pretty dim in the room so it didn't take long for my eyes to adjust. Annabeth was laying next to me with her head on my good shoulder and her legs wrapped in mine. I thought about how funny it would be if I were to hide under the bed. So when she woke up she would freak out and wonder where I was. But that would be a little too mean, besides I couldn't even imagine trying to sit up let alone get out of bed.

The clock said it was three in the morning, so I decided it would be a good idea to go back to sleep until it was a more decent hour to be awake. As soon as my eyes closed I was there, back in Tartarus. It was the exact same dream I had before, I tripped over Luke, I went to check his pulse, Annabeth screamed, Luke opened his eyes, I ran. Something wasn't right though, like I wasn't remembering something. It was what he said to me yesterday, "I needed you in Tartarus. And you left me!" I mean by all means Luke shouldn't be evil anymore. He sacrificed himself to kill Kronos and save the world form chaos. That doesn't sound like an evil guy to me.

Come on think, what else happened down there. There's something I'm not remembering. I almost had it, I could feel it on the outskirts of my subconscious. But something pulled me from my dream, and that would be my girlfriend... kissing my neck...Oh gods.

"Well this is the best wake up call I've ever gotten." Was that my voice, dang I sound rough. She brushed the hair out of my eyes, "I love you're husky morning voice." She giggled and went to sit on my lap before getting right back up. "Uh Percy... you feeling a little rebellious?" She gave me a weird look, "Uh no why?" She just giggled, "Because apart you seems to be part of an uprising."

I quickly bunched the covers up over my junk, "What do you expect it's morning!" I was trying really hard not to blush, I mean I have had sex with this girl why I am so embarrassed over morning wood. She kissed me and whispered in my ear, "You know, I could take care of that for you." Oh gods, what do I say, play it cool, this is totally normal. "Yeah... that'd be nice." I mentally slapped myself because not only was that not sexy but my voice cracked... like an entire octave.

She laughed as someone knocked on the door, "Well as cute as that was, it looks like we got some company." She moved to sit by my side on the bed, nicely concealing my early bird. "Come in" I started to think of the nastiest monsters I've ever seen trying to get it to go down. Then I thought of Gabe... yup that was it, my emergency erection represent.

Literally everyone aboard the ship save Luke crammed into my room with an assortment of blue food, blueberry blue pancakes, blue muffins, blue eggs, you name it and chances are it was there. "You guys are the best, really!" Frank walked over and patted me on the back, "Well you did stop Luke from killing all of us, so I would say you deserve this."

I gave him a fake smile and craned my neck to look around the room for Jason. He must have known I was looking for him because the next thing I knew he was standing right next to me. At that point everyone including Annabeth was on the other side of the room putting their plates of food together.

I kept my tone casual as to not draw attention to our conversation, "Where's Luke?"  
"He's in one of the holding cells. But I don't know man somethings not right." His eyes were full of genuine concern, "What, what is it, what's wrong?" "I don't feel comfortable talking about it here. It's best for you to see it for yourself. Do you think you can walk?"

Without hesitation I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood next to him. "Lets go." Jason looked around "Alright follow me. Percy and I will be right back, just going to get more syrup for the pancakes." They all looked at us weird, but just rolled their eyes and shrugged their shoulders and went back to eating their breakfast.

I followed him down two flights of stairs, ignoring the ache in my joints. We got to the bottom and I felt a little easier considering we were technically below sea level. There was a row of about ten holding cells. Each cell had it's own lamp but only one was burning. I walked toward the light and was amazed at what I saw.

Luke was balled up in the corner... whispering to himself. I stepped closer to the bars, "Luke? Are you okay?" His head snapped up and slowly turned to look at me, "Why do you care, this is your fault, you did this to me." Then the weirdest thing happened, it looked like he got a massive headache, he clutched his temples and squeezed his eyes shut. He let out a deep moan, then picked his head up to look at me again but this time it looked like it pained him. His eyes were terrified, his expression hopeless, "Percy... Help.. Me." 


	7. Chapter 7 Luke

I was beating on the walls of my own mind, do you know what that feels like. Yelling and pushing but your body just sits there while someone else handles the controls. Percy would be my only hope. When he found me in Tartarus I knew he could, he would be the one to free me from my own prison.

He's here now looking at me like I'm a sad little broken animal locked in a cage. "Luke? Are you Okay?" I needed to answer him, I needed to control my own body. I struggled and I fought and I could feel him leaking out of my head. "Percy...Help...Me."

I am free, for now but there's no telling how long this will last.

"Percy, listen I don't know how long I can hold him off so I'm going to make this quick." He grabbed the cell bars, "Who Luke, who's controlling you?" I could feel him snaking his way back into my head, his fingers gripping my self control.

"It's Tartarus! He's not just a prison, he's also a deity! He whispered to you Percy, I know he did. When you were down there, he knows who you are, he knows what you are capable of and he wants you! He tried to tempt you in the pit but you wouldn't give in! You're the one that got away, he wants you Percy... he..."

Oh gods no, no I've lost control again. LET ME GO TARTARUS! I could hear that deep cold voice again, laughing sending chills up my spine. Percy shook the bars, "LUKE!" I began to laugh, but it wasn't me.

"Yes Perseus, I did whisper to you. I whispered to you every night, my voice haunted your every nightmare. But you were a determined little thing. Not so easily wavered. It seems you only cared about one thing and one thing only. Your little girlfriend. She was just enough motivation to keep you in control of yourself. You see your little friend Luke here wasn't that lucky. He was alone, he was scared and he was just way too easy."

I was screaming on the inside, I just wanted him out of me, I almost wished Percy would just kill me now with riptide. But he wont, I know Percy, his biggest weakness is loyalty,he's not going to give up on me.

His face was twisted into this menacing scowl, I had never seen him look like that before. "Let him go or I swear I'll.." Tartarus cut him off, "You'll what, kill me, feel free. I'll just drag little Lucas here back with me down to the pit. I'm your worst nightmare kid, I am literally your nightmare in the flesh. I know what you're scared of, I know all your dirty little secrets. I know things about you, you don't even know yet."

Percy totally ignored him, "Don't worry Luke, we're going to fix this, I promise. I know you can hear me, if its the last thing I do, I'm going to find a way to save you." Tartarus howled with laughter, "Good luck with that boy. He's my little puppet to play with! And soon you will join the collection."

The porthole window cracked a little bit, as Percy's temper grew the water threatening to flood in. But he composed himself before it broke. He looked at the blonde kid, "We need to contact your sister, she's going to want to know about this." He raised an eyebrow at him, "Why would Thalia care this?"

Did he say Thalia? Thalia is his sister? That means he's a son of Zeus. Thalia... I had pushed her from my thoughts so many times because I knew it could never be. But just the sound of her name brought me strength, just the thought of her smile brought me hope.

If Annabeth was Percy's salvation from evil, then I guess Thalia would have to be mine.


	8. Chapter 8 Thalia

I've been sitting here on the edge of this cliff staring at camp halfblood. A week ago I got an Iris message from my little brother and Percy. They were incredibly vague other then the fact I needed to meet them at camp halfblood as soon as I could. Right before the connection cut off I heard one name. A name whispered, I was not meant to hear the name that sent chills down my spine...Luke.

Honesty, I've been here for three days but I've been too terrified to go down. I was here when they arrived, when they dragged him in bound and gagged. I couldn't stop the tears, they spilled out over my cheeks. He was dead, Luke _died,_ that was a fact.

I loved Luke from the moment I met him. He was the protective male figure in my life that I craved growing up. He was there for me when no one else was, he was my closest friend, and if I had it my way future husband.

It hit me hard when he died, Annabeth thought she had it bad, but I was a wreck! I didn't eat or sleep. I just sat there remembering all the good times I had with him, all the adventures I went on. I would beat myself up, I would tell myself that if I was a better fighter this would never had happened.

If I was a better fighter I would have never been turned into a fucking tree, then I would have been there for him and none of this would have happened. This was the sole reason I decided to join Artemis' hunters. I figured no boys, and always learning new fighting techniques.

Now I see them drag in the supposedly dead boy who has haunted my _life,_ into camp. He was very much alive, and his grasp on my heart and not weakened a bit. I could feel it pumping harder just thinking about him like his hand was the one squeezing my heart.

None of it made sense, even if by some miracle he was alive, he shouldn't be treated like this. Him being tied up suggests that he's evil, but his last dying action was killing himself so Kronos wouldn't rise to power. My head was spinning, so many questions so little answers. The last thing I would have said about me, is that I was a coward. It's time for me to confront my demons.

I took a deep breathe and descended to the camp below. I was almost to cabin 1. The home I never chose to know. I got to the door when I heard him. He must have known I was here, he was waiting for me. "Lurking in the shadows are we?" I turned around expecting to find Jason or Percy. Not Hades kid Nico. "Well that's pretty much all I do these days."

He walked past me into cabin one, it was really creepy how he had this way of almost dissolving into the darkness. I wasn't completely thrilled about following him inside. "Hey Nico... Do you think you could turn on a light or something?" His voice whispered out of the solid black, "Don't tell me you're scared of the dark...? Oh Alright, I got it hold on..." A faint glow illuminated a corner of the room. "Better now?"

A small candle burned in the corner by the statue of Zeus. "Much." I walked over to where he was sitting, "So what's the deal? What's going on with Luke?" He looked at me weird, "Why do you assume I know? What just because my dads God of the underworld?" Now it was my turn to look at him weird, "Are you telling me that a demigod, a very important demigod has returned from the dead, and you Nico son of Hades knows nothing about it?"

He just shook his head, "I honestly don't. I'm as confused as you are, and I don't like it. I tend to know the majority of what goes on underground. But this, I can't explain, that's why I'm here. I want answers." I rolled my eyes, "Don't we all."

He glared into the flame of the candle, "But one thing I do know, is he didn't get out on his own. That kid was on lock down. He had outside help, most likely possessed by something powerful. You know piggybacking him, using his body as a tool."

"Yeah, it's Tartarus..."

Okay I am so done with the random voices in the dark! "Who the hell is in my cabin?!" Whoever it was he was laughing.

"Well considering we basically have the same dad it's kind of my cabin too." It took me a second to tell my heart to stop beating so heart, and calm down. "Shit Jason, I totally forgot you would be here. Its good to see you bro... or rather hear you I cant really see."

He stepped into the candle light, "Its nice to see you, I didn't expect you'd come for a couple more days." Then he turned to Nico, "And I didn't expect to see you at all, but no matter you will be extremely helpful. Now lets go Percy's waiting for you guys in his cabin."

"Wait I thought you said you weren't expecting us?" He sighed, "Oh I didn't expect you... but Percy did. "


	9. Chapter 9 Luke

Even when I slept I couldn't escape Tartarus. He never slept, always plaguing my head with nightmares and unspeakable pain. It was a blessing to wake up, but then my heart always grew ice cold when I remembered the nightmare didn't end when I woke.

I have been chained in the basement of the big house for about a week, I don't know maybe more. Keeping track of time hasn't really been a priority of mine lately. Days would pass without so much as a word from the others. They couldn't bare to look at me, and I mean who could blame them. I was dead for a couple years, rotting in hell. I endured day after day, night after night of torment. He followed me everywhere I went, whispering. Telling me to accept him, to let him, let him use my body to walk among the mortals.

Every time I would refuse, he would unleash some new torture. I knew it was never going to end, until one day I gave up. I let him have me, and that's when the _true_ nightmare began.

Today started like it usually did. I woke up and there was food and water already put within reach. My wrists had been washed to prevent the shackles from giving me a rash. I may be their hostage, but I'm not their prisoner. Tartarus has been pretty dormant lately, not particularly interested in sitting here tied up. He still whispers though. I was getting pretty good at ignoring him. He's basically nothing but negative energy, and the more positive I got, the less I could hear him. Of course it wasn't a sure fire way to get rid of him, but it still gave me some privacy from time to time.

Based on the lack of light coming in from the window I would assume it was almost dusk. I walked over to the table about five yards away. It was as far as the chains would let me go, and in five yards the other direction was toilet. I grabbed the tray of food and brought it back to my cot.

I was just about to sink my teeth into an apple when I could hear someone walking down the stairs. That's weird no one usually came at this time. They were usually very routine, thanks to Jupiter's kid and his strict prisoner of war schedule. I wondered who it was going to be, Percy, or maybe even Annabeth, at this point I didn't care, I just wanted to interact with some other humans... well half humans.

But then she came down. My pulse quickened my heart beating so hard like it was trying to jump out of my chest and run to her. Because that's where it belongs... with her. "Thalia?" I had to clear my throat, lack of use had mad me very horse.

She stopped right before she got to the table, right of the range of my chains. "I had to see it with my own eyes. I can't believe you're alive." I stood and slowly walked over to the table, "I know what you must be thinking, but I promise you I'm not evil. Maybe what's inside of me is, but I'm not. I'm the Luke you always knew."

A single tear barley made it out of her eyes before she immediately wiped it away. "Don't say that, you _cant_ say that! You're not the same! The Luke I knew before didn't have an evil deity for a puppet master!" The tears really started to spill now, my heart was breaking just looking at her.

"What you think this isn't the most painful thing I've ever had to do. I was brainwashed by Kronos and almost ended the civilized world. I suffered in Tartarus, tortured to the point of breaking. I've literally been living a nightmare for years... But none of it was as bad as standing here looking at you, just out of my reach, knowing I can't hold you. Knowing you wont take those few extra steps that'll put you into my arms. Why? Because you're afraid of me. In your eyes I'm a ticking evil time bomb."

Her eyes looked straight into mine, straight into my very being. Then she took one step, then another and before it she was inches away from me. She put her hand on my cheek, "Luke, seeing the one you love in so much pain... that's the worst pain a person can go through."

Before I could stop myself I crushed my lips to hers. I thought she would stop me but she didn't. We slowly walked backwards, our lips never parting. I felt my calves hit the edge of my cot. I picked her up and spun her around lying her down. I pulled back panting, "I love you Thalia." She nodded, "I know... I love you too." She grabbed my shirt and pulled me to her. I grabbed her by the waist, I could feel her bare skin under my callused fingers. Slowly I drug them up her body eventually finding her breasts.

She reached for my belt and I moaned, moving my lips to her neck. My pants came off along with her shorts. We both quickly took our own shirts.

I crashed back down on her with so much passion I was sure the whole camp would feel it. I entered her, and oh my gosh did it feel good. She winced a little before whispering in my ear, "Don't stop.." I continued with raw emotion. All my anger, all my tension, all my love. This girl was all I ever wanted.

Even after we were finished we remained there on my cot. Wrapped in blankets and spooning. I never wanted to go, I wanted to hold her for the remainder of my sorry life. If I was going to face the world I wanted her to be there holding my hand.

"It's getting dark, I really should go, the others will be looking for me soon." She got up and started to put her clothes back on. I stood up behind her, kissing her shoulder. "Please, promise me you'll come back." She turned got up on her tipy toes and kissed my cheek. "Now that you're mine, I'm never going to let you go.

She was fully clothed now and I was kissing her goodnight. I was about to let her go when I felt it. The ice cold chill that shot up my spine, and snaked its way into my head. I jerked my arms away from her. "Luke? What.."

I fell to the ground, "RUN! Get away from me ! Ahhhhh!" She tried to help me up, but I couldn't allow her anywhere near me, not when he was coming back. So i shoved her as hard as I could. It was the hardest thing I've ever done but she landed safely on the other side of the table.

Then he had me, I know he did because I tried to say sorry, but no words came. "Well aren't you a pretty one. You must be Thalia, daughter or Zeus. Luke thinks about you all the time. You know it's too bad you came here. You see the only thing that can save Luke is love. That's what saved Percy, and that's all that can save Luke. It's not Love itself that'll free him, but the passion it gives, the hope. It gives the host enough strength to resist and eventually cast me out."

Thalia bless her heart walked closer to me, "Why are you telling me this, why are you giving me to key to Luke's freedom?" He laughed, "Oh sweet naive Thalia. I have given you nothing. I'm simply telling you why you must die..." NO! He cant kill her! "I cant have the only thing that could possibly stand between me and victory live now can I.

The chains melted away, "You see I knew you would come, I've been waiting." She tried to run but he was quicker. He pushed her into a wall. She slumped against the floor. I was screaming inside, beating as hard as I could. But it did no good, he picked her up by the neck, slowly the life left her. Her eyes looked into mine, those sad dying eyes that only minutes earlier were loving and passionate.

I'm NOT GOING TO LET YOU DIE! I concentrated, gave every ounce of energy I had. "LET HER GO!" My hand let go.

My stomach churned and my vision blurred. It felt like a fire was burning inside me. I couldn't breath, and then everything went dark.


	10. Chapter 10 Leo

I don't really know what's going on around here. But one thing is obvious, the ladies love this Luke guy. I mean Annabeth, who for as long as I've known her, has only had eyes for Percy, has been talking about him non-stop. Then Thalia shows up and throws herself at him, which did not make Jason happy one bit. It wasn't really a secret what happened down there. Piper knew the second she saw Thalia, that she had sex with Luke. Being the daughter of Aphrodite it might as well stamped on her forehead.

Of course she told Jason, and Jason threw a fit and picked a fight with Thalia, and well now.. the whole camp knows. The one thing no one did know, was what it meant for her status as hunter of Artemis. I mean sure those chicks were cool and all but I mean come on... no boys? That's just horrible, especially when there's some studs like me available. Now I'm not saying it's completely by choice, but I am saying if I wanted I could have a few of them.

If you ask me I hope she cant be a hunter anymore, that just means she can stay here with us, and honestly we could really use her. There's never any lack of disasters around here and a daughter of Zeus would really help us out.

I pondered this while tinkering with some gears, they were having another one of their meetings and I tended to keep my nose out of them. Lately they were always about Luke and I didn't really know him so it felt wrong for me to judge him, or have a say in what we do with his life.

As usual it was Jason and Frank versus Annabeth, Percy, and Thalia. Piper, Hazel, and I were neutral. Percy slammed his hand on the table, "For the last time ! NO! We are NOT going to KILL him!" Jason's nostrils flared, "Look, I don't see why you're so attached to him. From what I've heard you don't have too many fond memories of him."

Percy closed his eyes and massaged his temples. "Jason I understand why you would have no love for Luke, but he was once one of us. Yes he made a few bad choices, but in the end it he made the right one when it truly mattered. And are you forgetting that he inadvertently is the reason your sister is not a tree?"

It was silent for a while, then finally it happened, one side caved. Jason slowly nodded his head in regretful surrender. "I guess you're right. I am thankful she isn't a tree, but it doesn't change the fact that she is irrationally in love with him. So much so that she would break a sacred oath. I think we should keep them separated until we find a solution to our current situation."

Everyone was shocked that a decision had finally been made after several weeks. While everyone was talking among themselves, I took this opportunity to talk to Jason. "Look man, I know you don't particularly like the guy, but really? Killing him seems a bit extreme. I know you're a black and white kind of guy, but whether you like it or not this is a gray area. We don't know him like the others do, they seem to truly believe there's a good guy in there. Sure he may be rooming with an evil deity, but that's more reason to try and help him."

Jason's shoulders tensed up, "That 'good' guy almost killed Percy, he wanted to kill us all. Then he comes here and takes advantage of my sister and... and..." I cut him off, "Oh my gods man, you know that wasn't actually Luke on the boat, and he didn't take advantage of anyone. I mean sure they had sex, but I'm pretty sure that was done out of mutual love. You have to get over it, all of it."

I patted him on the shoulder and walked out. I was planning on walking through the woods to my secret workshop. It was a beautiful day outside, but that's not uncommon for a camp that never rained. Sometimes I wished it would rain, just to change the scenery up a bit.

I had just reached the outskirts of the woods when I noticed her sitting there. "Thalia? What are you doing over here? Wait... are you crying?" She just sat there leaning against a tree staring in the direction of the big house. I slowly squatted down next to her, "Oh, don't answer to quick now." She just turned her head to look at me, "Why are you here?" Well she was just jumping straight to the point now wasn't she.

"Well I thought you might need someone to talk to, you know an unbiased ear. I know you got a lot going on right now." It took a few minutes but then she began to spill, maybe a little to much, but I wasn't about to stop her. Now I wont go into to much detail, because believe me most of it I wish I didn't even know. But here's the gist of it.

She was totally in love with Luke, in fact it was killing her that she wasn't even aloud near the big house let alone in the basement. Then she went into some rather sexual details, then she went on and on about how that made her feel. Then she wrapped it all up with, "Well I guess Luke has screwed me in more then one way. First he screwed me in the basement, then he screwed me out of immortality. Yeah you heard me, I'm out, I'm no longer a virgin and I'm no longer a hunter. Lucky me."

If I told you I didn't laugh I would be lying. Yes I know it was totally inappropriate and not the right time. But oh gods, I just couldn't stop myself. When I looked over I was happy to see that so was she. I'm pretty sure I just made a new friend, and I had a pretty good feeling Jason wasn't going to like it.


	11. Chapter 11 Percy

I know I should be thrilled that Jason had finally caved on the Luke debate, but honestly, right now that was the last thing on my mind. Annabeth said she would come over to my cabin once everyone was asleep in her cabin. It had been a long time, way too long if you ask me since we slept together.

I felt a little ridiculous just sitting here in the dark waiting, I've never really been known for my patience. I began to over think everything. Like should I take off my clothes, or would that be weird? I would just compromise and strip to my underwear. Should there be music, should this be more romantic.

I shouldn't be this worked up about this, I mean this isn't the first time we've had sex. Sometimes I just don't know what I ever did to deserve the perfection of Annabeth. She really does bring out the best in me, she challenges me to be the best I can be. I don't know what I would do without her. People think I was stupid to fall into Tartarus with her, but there was no way she was ever leaving me again.

It had to be past midnight by now. If she wasn't here soon there was a good chance she wasn't coming. I pushed the thought away, she was coming she had to. Forget sex I just need to hold her, to sleep next to her. I don't care if it's considered "unmanly" I need her to sleep well at night.

I was about to abandon hope of her showing up. My eyelids had just begun to droop when two small hands ran there way down my bare chest. "Annabeth? What the... oh gods the cap. Please take it off so I can see you." She giggled that beautiful giggle before tugging the cap off,

Her blonde hair tumbled past her shoulders.. her bare shoulders. "Annabeth, are you naked?" She pulled the covers back and climbed in with me. "Yeah, that's why I wore the cap. Now lets see I believe this is a no clothing event. Mr. Jackson I see like always you have broken the rules." She winked at me, and oh gods what it did to me. This was my girlfriend, my beautiful, smart, perfect, and down right sexy girlfriend.

I kissed her, "Well lets see if we cant right my wrong shall we?" I rolled on top of her and she whispered in my ear as I kissed her neck. "Oh Percy... I don't plan on doing anything right tonight..." Her hands were on my hips, her fingers lightly slid inside my boxers pulling them down. Now we were nice and naked, my favorite.

I crushed my lips down on hers, I was going to make this the best night of her life.. I hope. I mean it was already one of mine and we hadn't even got to the good part yet. Being inside her was probably the best sensation humanly possible. It's like we become one person. Our love, our intensity, our passion, our hearts... all one.

I thrust into her and was rewarded with a very satisfactory moan. My lips rarely ever left hers. When they did it was to kiss her somewhere else while she caught her breath. Being the son of Poseidon I was pretty good at holding my breath. This time was so much better then the last time. The awkwardness had melted away and it was total comfort and trust. Don't get me wrong your first is always going to be special. But damn this felt to good. And to think we have a lifetime to keep doing this, to keep exploring, to keep loving each other. There's no doubt in my mind that I'm going to be with her for a lifetime, and then some if were lucky.

I met this girl when I was twelve, and she kicked my ass, in almost every way possible. But now... now I'm showing her who's boss. And by the sound of it, she is enjoying every last second of it.

So uh yeah we had sex and then we did it again. And then we took about a twenty minute break. Then I decided to get a little adventurous. "Percy... you sure, I mean this is like a huge step?" I smiled, "Oh I'm sure now spread your legs." I started to go down on her. It was nothing like I imagined it would be. I hope she liked it, because it was just awkward for me. The hole time I was hoping I was doing it right, but hey that's the story of my whole sexual life.

Then she returned the favor, and I guess to say I liked it would be an understatement. Its hard to believe this is the same girl who only a few weeks ago was nervous to get undressed in front of me. Now she's as confident as ever. If I didn't know better I would have said she did some research, learned some new moves. But that would mean that she watched porn, and although she is the daughter of Athena, I found that extremely unlikely.

It was probably around three or four in the morning. Annabeth was passed out with her head on my shoulder. I gently rubbed my thumb across her cheek. I'm going to marry this girl, we're going to have a family. I'm going to give her a home, and I'm never going to let anything hurt her ever again. I swore on the river styx, and I have no intention of ever going back on my word.

Because we were back at camp we no longer had the luxury of just sleeping in each others beds. Camp Halfblood had rules against that sort of thing. So I reluctantly woke her up, a little more gently this time, no wet willies.

She yawned and stretched, "What time is it?" I picked her up and walked over to my closet, "A little after three you've only been asleep for about twenty minutes. I'm going to bring you back to your cabin. But first off, lets get you some clothes. Sorry I don't really have anything in your size."

I put one of my many random school hoodies on her, then gave her a pair of boxers. She still hadn't even opened her eyes. I doubt she was even awake, she was so adorable. She always makes fun of me because I drool, but only if she knew she talked in her sleep. Of course I'm never going to tell her because it's way too much fun to listen to her.

I pulled the cap over her and watched her turn invisible. It was weird I could still fell her weight in my arms, but I couldn't see her. I quickly exited my cabin and tip toed over to hers. It seemed like the majority of them were sleeping but I wasn't about to take my time to check. I walked over to her bed and put her down. I felt around for the cap and pulled it off. I gave her one last kiss, and headed back to my cabin.

This night will always remain in my top favorite nights for the rest of my life.


	12. Chapter 12 Luke

I can't say the basement is cozy, but it's a whole lot better than Tartarus. I have one enchanted chain around my ankle that's bolted to the wall. They've brought me a much nicer bed, and bring me fresh clothes every day along with 3 meals and 2 snacks. I honestly cant complain. Sometimes I get visitors, none of them Thalia, but I've been told that was not her decision. They tend rotate, Like right now Percy is here playing go-fish. Its his favorite card game for obvious reasons, and I have to admit he was kicking me ass.

It was nice having some time with Percy, he was always like a little brother to me. Just sitting here watching him wrinkle his eyebrows in frustration as he thought about his next move. I could imagine growing up with him, teaching him about girls, protecting him from bullies, teaching him to fight and letting him win every once in a while; just to see him light up like a Christmas tree. He was always the least awkward out of all of them. No matter what he might feel, he always just acted like he was just visiting a friend, and for that I am extremely grateful.

"So like I was saying, Annabeth and I sort of became official a little while after you... uh... died. Got any 3's ?" I handed over two threes and watched as he triumphantly won yet another round of go-fish. "So that means you two have been going out for a good long time right? Have you, as Shakespeare would say, 'made the beast with two backs' yet?" His ears turned scarlet red. "_Dude_! So not cool..." I chuckled, "I take it that's a yes. Come on no need to be embarrassed its totally normal. Besides I told you all about Me and Thalia." Percy stared at the table for a while before answering, "Yeah we did it... a couple of times. The first time being a day or two before you showed up on the boat. Man, it's just so ... _Awesome_ ! Like at first I was freaking out that I wouldn't be good, now its all I can think about. But I don't want to freak her out, I mean i still want to spend some normal time with her. It's just... Oh gods I'm totally unloading on you, I'm sorry."

"No it's okay, honestly, I like it. It's been so long sense I talked to anyone like this. You know normal problems that have nothing to do with gods and monsters. It's nice to know that those kind of problems still exist. I'd be more than happy to give you my input, but only if you want it." Percy nodded his head, "Oh course, anything that would help."

"Well sex is normal but it isn't everything, never forget that. Its different for girls, yes they want it, yes they like it, and yes sometimes they even feel like they need it. But for guys it's like any times a good time. It's like a honeymoon faze. I promise after a while things will settle down. But it would be in your best interest to bring her out on a normal date, just so she knows you remember what normal is. She'll appreciate the effort."

Percy was lost in a daydream, probably thinking about the normal date he was sure to take Annabeth out on tonight. He was about to say something when the stairs creaked, signaling that someone was descending down the stairs. Percy obviously had no clue who it was because his hand twitched towards his pocket where he kept riptide. There was the silhouette in the shadows, I noticed who it was immediately but it took Percy a couple seconds.

"Thalia, you know you're not supposed to be down here. Jason is going to freak out." She stepped into the let , "That's such a stupid rule, if all of you guys are aloud to see him, than I should be too." Percy just shook his head, "It was your brothers only condition, he would let Luke live if you would stay away until we fixed his, uh, problem." She squinted her eyes at him, "Jason is just being a bratty, over protective, little brother. I'm older than him so I don't have to listen to him if I don't want to."

Percy seemed to ponder that for a while. "You know what you're right, I didn't see you, and you didn't see me. I got a date to plan, you guys... uh... you know... have fun. Be careful and all that." I reminded myself that I would have to thank him somehow later, as I watched him take the stairs two at a time closing the door behind him. He really was a cool kid.

When I brought my eyes back down to Thalia she was looking at me with raw emotion, "I missed you." I motioned for her to come towards me. I grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her down to the new bed. We laid there, me wrapped around her, our fingers intertwined, my chin on top of her head. All I wanted to do was hold her. The words I had told Percy only moments earlier rang in my ear, sex is normal, but it isn't everything.


	13. Chapter 13 Annabeth

If I didn't know better I would have sworn I had read more books in the past few weeks than I had in my entire life. I was totally invested in finding a way to free Luke of Tartarus. Percy has been bothering me to take a break for hours now. Now he's sitting behind me playing with my hair, every once in a while teasingly placing a kiss on my neck. "Percy ! This is very important ! As much as i would love to take a quick break with you, I can't. Luke needs to be free and I am so close to solving it I can taste it."

"Oh come on, you _have_ to be hungry by now! You haven't eaten anything since breakfast and that was almost thirteen hours ago." I just shook my head, "Not gonna happen Jackson, not until I fix Luke." I heard him sigh and the next thing I know I was being picked up and draped across his shoulders. "PERCY! PUT ME DOWN!" I could feel the vibrations of his giggling, "Nope, you're coming with me. You need to eat, and soon."

I started to to pound on his back, but it just made him laugh harder and his grip tighten. "Struggle all you want love, I'm not putting you down until we get there." This peaked my interest a little bit, "And where exactly are you taking me?" He just patted my butt, "Wouldn't you like to know."

What an irrelevant statement, of course I want to know. That's the whole reason I asked. But of course he was being sassy with me, as always. It was one of the many traits I used to loathe in him, but just like everything else about him, I have grown to love. So I rode like that for a while, waving at all the passing campers who were pointing and laughing, as if this weren't embarrassing enough.

Eventually he put me down in a slightly larger than normal row boat. He then he climbed in after me with a picnic basket. "You planned all this?" He beamed, "Why yes I did, are you impressed?" He pushed off the dock, rowing us out to the middle of the lake. I crossed over to sit next to him, "Thoroughly" I kissed him on the cheek, and opened up the basket. Now that I wasn't in my little research bubble I realized I was actually starving. "Although if I may point out one tiny flaw." He stopped rowing, concern immediately crossing his face, "What?" I laughed, "You _do_ know you're the son of Poseidon, you don't exactly need to row the boat. You could just, you know, make it move."

His look of concern, dropped to a look of amusement. "What? And miss a chance to show off these!" He flexed his arms with a good, strong row for emphasis. What did I ever do to deserve such an adorable boy.

The rest of the day was spent, eating food, reminiscing, and laughter. It felt good. It had been a while since we had, had a care free afternoon like this. Even now in the back of out minds we were plagued with Luke's possession. Eventually day turned to night, the sun dipping below the horizon. Percy started to steer us back to the docks when I put my hand on his thigh. "We don't have to go back, not yet."

He cocked his head a little, "But it's dark, it'll be getting cold soon, and we really should..." I placed my lips on his. Giving him a good, deep kiss. Then I drew back, "Fine, if you really want, then lets go." I gave him another teasing peck on the lips, before moving back to the other side of the boat.

He groaned, "You will be the death of me Annabeth Chase, but hopefully I'll live long enough to see that your name be changed to Jackson, I believe it would suit you just fine." My jaw dropped further then our drop to tartarus. "Percy did you just..."

He smiled at me, "Propose?" Just then a sea nymph popped its head out of the water giggling handing Percy what looked like a clam. He nodded to the nymph and returned his attention to me.

He opened the clam to reveal a breathtaking ring made out of celestial bronze twisted around a rather large pearl. "Uh ya, I guess I did."


	14. Chapter 14 Percy

She had been silent for a long time. Realistically it had probably only been a few seconds; but when you're waiting on such an important answer a second seemed like an hour. I could see the gears turning in her head. I have to admit it hurt a little that she had to think about so long. I mean that's how she approaches every decision. But I would still hope she wouldn't have to think so hard about this decision in particular.

She finally looked up at me and took my hand. "No." I exhaled the breath I had been holding, "Oh it's so good to... wait. You said No?" She squeezed my hand, "Percy, believe me, I want to more than anything,but we're too young." I stopped the boat about half a mile from the docks, and I didn't plan on moving again until she said yes. "Too young? Well we were too young to do a lot of things. Hunting monsters, going on quests, we've literally gone through hell ! We deserve to be happy damit! I'll be eighteen in a few months, I'll be a legal adult, we can do this, I promise."

She sighed, I could tell she wanted it, her walls were starting to break. She wanted to say yes, she was just over thinking everything. "Percy, do you really think now is the time?"

"Of course! Now is a perfect time ! We're here, we're together, there's no wars currently going on, at least not yet. Please just say yes. I could make you so happy, I promise, Annabeth I want this more than anything." She looked down, and I cupped her cheek with my hand.

"Ok, but only on one condition. No one can know, at least not yet. I want to keep it a secret until things calm down. I don't really want to add the stress of planning a wedding on top of helping Luke."

I tackled her with a huge hug. I pulled back to kiss her on the forehead, then her cheek, then her nose, then finally her lips. "I love you more than anything else in this world."

We walked back to my cabin, the whole time holding hands. I just couldn't wait to get her alone to myself. Tonight should be celebrated. Right before we got to the door I swept her off her feet and carried her over the threshold. "That's supposed to happen _after_ the wedding seaweed brain." I laughed, "Just practicing." I laid her down on the bed and we started to make out.

We were getting really into it when we heard someone clear their throat. Annabeth shoved me off of her and onto the floor. She was so strong for such a small girl. After I rubbed my head where it hit the floor I looked up and there I saw sitting in an empty bunk, Aphrodite. "Aphrodite? What are you doing here?" Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Isn't it obvious? Goddess of love?" My look of confusion annoyed both of them.

"I'm the Goddess of love Perceus, and there has been some developments in the particular love story." Aphrodite winked at me. Oh gods she knew, and if she knew that means the rest of them probably know too. I was about to slightly panic but she cut me off, "Relax, you have my discretion. I come bearing gifts, every newly engaged couple deserves and engagement present. I have been betting on you two for a long time. I'm just so thrilled you're almost official."

She took out a very old looking, leather book. I looked at it curiously, "So basically it's a gift for Annabeth? I mean not that I don't like books, but I'm more of a movie person." Annabeth smacked me in the back of the head, "Be polite."

That made Aphrodite laugh, "Patience Percy, for this book holds the answer to most of your upcoming problems. But before I go I will give you one bit of advice. In regards to your wedding, the sooner the better." And with that she disappeared.

Annabeth immediately opened the book and began reading, shocker there right. I guess our celebrating was coming to a close, she was back in her research bubble. So I did what any good boyfriend, I mean fiance, would do. I turned the laptop on brought her a notebook with pens, pencils, and highlighters, and set out some snacks like grapes, crackers, and juice.

I kissed her on top of the head and headed off to bed. "Feel free to join me at any time babe. Good luck on the reading."

I swear I was only asleep for maybe an hour. But when I woke up the sun was just peaking into my windows, and Annabeth was sitting on top of me poking me. "Finally! You're awake! I figured out how to fix Luke!"

She hopped down from the bed and grabbed the old leather book which she had naturally already read and more than likley memorized. She ran back to my side and pointed to a couple highlighted lines.

* * *

To separate a living being from a God, spirit, or diety.  
A. Find a tree struck by lighting  
B. Soak a branch in sea water for twenty four hours  
C. Sharpen the point into a spear with the bone of a fallen hero.  
D. Dip the edge into the blood of the innocent  
E. Stab the person who is unfortunately possessed


	15. Chapter 15 Thalia

I pushed past tree after tree making my way far enough away from camp, that I wouldn't accidentally hurt was tagging along but he had fallen behind a little, giving me some space. After all this time of waiting we finally found a way to save Luke. It wasn't exactly a way we were too thrilled about, but it was a way none the less. We all divided up the majority of the responsibilities, Naturally Jason and I took the lightning and Percy took the sea water. But we got stuck on the last couple details. No one wanted to be in charge of finding a bone of a fallen hero or blood of the innocent. It sounded awful, but I was going to keep my head down and not ask questions. I was willing to do anything for Luke, anything that would return him to me.

Last night I was in his room when he snapped. One minute he he was loving and warm and the next he was evil, slapping me hard across my face. When I cried out he just smiled, "Such foolishness, as to think you could suppress me. It does not matter how strong your love is, I can promise you it is not stronger than I. Every touch you share with him, is also with me. You can not escape me. I know your fears Thalia Grace, and I will use every single one of them against you. Starting with the torture of you beloved Lucas." And just like that he was gone and Luke was screaming. Clawing at his hair, eyes squeezed closed in pain. I started to walk towards him but he just yelled at me and told me to leave him there. It was hard, but I did it, I walked away, leaving him alone in his misery.

Now it just fueled my determination to help him. Finally stopping at a tall tree a few miles from the main camp. I needed to calm down a little or my aim would be terrible. I pushed everything from my mind, until I was nothing but raw emotion. Hate and desire filling me until I burst, and then came the lighting. A huge bolt struck the tree right in front of me, again and again an again. Okay so maybe it was a bit overboard, but I didn't want to leave anything to chance.

As soon as the tree was done steaming I looked over to Jason, he nodded and flew up to pick a good sized branch to become a spear. It only took him a few minutes then he was back, holding the branch out in front of him admiring his choice.

We walked back to camp. Jason offered to fly us back but my stomach was already in knots, I doubted it could handle flight. We walked at a quick pace, it was silent other than the occasional comment. Things were still a little awkward between us, he had expressly forbade me from seeing Luke, and seeing as I am older and frankly didn't care about his "authority" I ignored him.

Camp was almost in view when he grabbed my wrist turning me around. "Thalia, I don't want us to be like this forever, I know you're mad at me for trying to keep you away from Luke. But you have to understand that I was just trying to protect you. He is in many ways unstable, unpredictable, and dangerous. But now that we have a way to save him we need to be on the same team. I want to help you, I really do. I want you to be happy. Just promise me you wont see him again until we have the spear ready. He's progressively getting worse, and we're so close to fixing him. Please. Just..." I didn't even let him finish I hugged him tight. He was such a sweet little brother. Slightly over protective, but sweet. I nodded and slung my arm through his. "I understand Jace, lets just get this spear to Percy.


	16. Chapter 16 Piper

I was anxiously gnawing on my fingernails, Jason had been gone all morning with Thalia, and as pathetic as it is, I cant be away from him for too long without getting nervous. I contemplating going to Annabeth's cabin to kill some time, but I noticed as of late she had been basically attached to Percy. I mean before they had a definite co-dependency, but now its almost as of they're literally attached to each other. I cant say that I'm not happy for them, they went through a lot, they deserve to be happy.

As a daughter of Aphrodite it was very evident that their relationship had bumped up a notch, not that any of us thought that was possible. If I didn't know any better I would say they were newly engaged or possibly even married. But that was unlikely due to the fact that most demigods don't live long enough to get married, most don't even try.

Here I am lying in my bed staring at the ceiling fan spin around, and around, seemingly to no end. There were so many big things going on right now, things much bigger than I am, yet here I am sitting here like I have no problems. It almost feels like I'm at a real summer camp, rather than a secret demigod training camp.

Deciding I had enough of watching the ceiling fan, I got up to go give Annabeth's cabin a try. There was a slim chance she would be there. I walked down the isle of cabins to Athena's. keeping my head down, trying not to attract attention. I wasn't really in the mood for small talk.

I walked straight into Athena's cabin without so much as a knock. I was slightly upset when I saw that Annabeth wasn't there. With a slight sigh I turned to leave, I was almost completely out the door when one her siblings spoke up, "If you're looking for Annabeth, she is where she always is... Percy's cabin." I winked, "Thanks"

I didn't know if I should go there, there was about a fifty/fifty chance that I would catch them in a compromising position. I decided I was anxious enough to give it a try.

When I got to cabin three, instead of just walking in, I took a deep breath and knocked. "Annabeth? You in there?" I heard a toilet flush and someone tripping, "I'll be right there hold on." I tried to hide my laughter as Annabeth opened the door in an over sized hoodie and a mess of hair piled into a bun on her head. "Piper! hey what's going on? Come in."

I followed her over to Percy's huge bed, wait he didn't have a bed this size before. He had to have gotten this recently, "New bed?" She blushed, "Uh yeah, he said the other one was a bit too small for him. You know considering by this age most kids stop coming to camp." She couldn't make eye contact. I smiled, "Annabeth, I know you've been staying here, you don't have to pretend like you aren't. He got the bed for you didn't he?" She nodded, "I feel more comfortable with him you know?" "You don't have to explain yourself to me, the whole reason I'm here is because Jason is off with Thalia and I am on edge without him."

She squeezed my hand and was about to say something when she covered her mouth and sprinted to the bathroom, where she proceeded to empty the contents of her stomach. Okay so there's two options, either she was sick, or she was pregnant.


	17. Chapter 17 Percy

I was just finishing up collecting a tub of sea water to soak the branch in when the iris message came. I didn't even let Piper finish speaking before I sprinted back to my cabin. The whole way there the words echoed through my head, "Annabeth's sick" then she said something else like "don't panic" but I didn't stick around long enough to hear about that. I didn't care if it was something as simple as a common cold, sick was sick and I wanted to be there for her.

I ran straight up to my door where Piper was waiting outside waiting for me. I was just going to walk by her but she put her hand on my chest making me stop to look at her. "Is she okay? Whats wrong?" She sighed, which wasn't very comforting. "Percy, I honestly don't know what to tell you. She seemed just fine, but then out of the blue she just ran to the bathroom and hurled. Now I don't think I need to explain to you how the birds and bees work, I think you understand that better than I do. BUT, although it could just be a stomach bug, you need to be prepared for you know... the other possibility. I got her a test, and I've given her some privacy."

I tried to keep my composure while she was talking, but I think it must have slipped a little because she looked at me like I was fragile. I brushed past her into the cabin, the second I got inside I could hear her in the bathroom. Now it was my turn to sigh. I quickly went over every single time we had sex, we had been safe, she was extremely thorough in making sure of that. My hand hovered over the door handle for just a moment, then I heard her whimper and I snapped back into myself.

I gently opened the door and walked over to where she was hunched over the toilet. I sat behind her and took her hair in one hand and rubbed circles on her back with the other. Neither of us spoke, we just sat there. On the floor I saw it, that little blue plus sign that was going to change everything. She finished and leaned back into me holding my hand. I just looked at her, and brushed a single tear away from her cheek. "Percy I'm sorry."

That was the last thing I expected to hear from her. "What are you sorry for ? It's not like you planned this. And besides we can make this work, I already proposed to you, we'll just get married a little bit sooner." She sniffed and gave a week nod, "I guess." I pressed my lips to her forehead, "Now you listen to me, I am going to take care of you, I am going to be there for you every step of the way. I always wanted a family with you, hell why not start it now right. Don't think of this as a bad thing, this is a great thing. That right there," I placed my hand on her stomach. "is a piece of us, and if I'm lucky it'll be just like you."

I held her and rocked her for a couple of hours before she fell asleep. I carried her over to the bed and tucked her in. As much as I wanted to climb in beside her I couldn't. I needed some air, I needed the sea, I needed my dad.

I walked over to the water and closed my eyes, "Dad, I know you're probably busy, but this is really important. I need to talk to you." When I opened my eyes I could see a man about a dozen or so yards out walking towards me. There was no question, it was my dad, in his classic tourist looking t-shirt. "Perseus..." I could tell by the way he looked at me he knew. "Come here son." I walked over to him and did exactly what I didn't want to do, I cried. "Now Percy none of this, you are a demigod, while I understand this is scary, it is an adventure that you must except."

We both sat down on a large rock, "I just don't understand, we were careful..." He put a hand on shoulder, "That would be my fault, most forms of birth control don't exactly work when it comes to the big three. We're notorious for having lots of kids, its in our DNA." I nodded soaking that in, "So what now, I mean don't get me wrong I always wanted this, I just thought we'd be a little older you know." Poseidon laughed, "Nonsense you are a man now, I have complete faith that you are going to be an amazing father. But if I could give you some advice, take care of Hermes son as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more people will die."

"I'm sorry, did you just say.. die? Please tell me you said something else like pie, nothing ever bad happens with pie." He started to walk back to the water, "One is already beyond saving, but save the rest while you can." I started to chase after him, "WHO? Who is going to die?" But he was already gone, and I felt worse than before I came out here.

I headed over to the big house to check in on Luke, to see if his condition had worsened. I prayed that he was in his right mind, because my chat with my dad didn't exactly help. I walked down the stairs to the basement, and found that all the lights had been turned off. "Luke? Luke you down there?" The door slammed shut behind me. Oh shit, this was not going to be good.


	18. Chapter 18 Jason

I knew we should have taken the Luke problem a little bit more seriously. Everyone was just so nonchalant about it, like hey we have a dude possessed by one of the most powerful deities ever locked in our basement... no big deal. Now he's missing and so is Percy. From what I heard there was some unfinished business between Percy and Tartarus, but Percy got away from him once so I can only hope that he can do it again.

Not that I would admit it to most people but I feel unbalanced without Percy. I had grown to admire his leadership, and trust him his a comrade in battle. He had actually grown to be more than that, almost like a brother. The thought of losing my new brother right after finding him put a pain in my gut. I just really wanted to go find Piper but shes spent just about all of her free time with Annabeth helping her deal with everything.

None of us are giving up on finding him, he's only been gone a week. But it was hard to devise a reliable plan without finishing the spear. We've been trying to finish the spear, but we had hit a dead end. We needed to sharpen it with the bone of a fallen hero, and considering the fact that we burn our dead we didn't exactly have any extra bones laying around. Plus just the thought of it gave us the creeps, even Nico and he's a son of Hades.

I had been pacing on the roof of cabin one for at least an hour by now, letting the open sky calm me down. I could feel my stomach start to growl so I floated down with the intention of getting some food, but instead ran smack into my girlfriend. I grabbed hold of her so when we fell she landed on top of her. "ouch, oh hey Jason! Nice of you to drop in." I tried not to laugh at her cheesy pun but I couldn't help it, she was just so darn adorable. I giggled, "Sorry Pipes didn't see ya there, I was just going to get something to eat, would you like to join me?" She kissed my nose, "Sounds great, I was actually headed up there myself."

A group of young girls were pointing at us and giggling. "Piper I think we should get up now, we seem to be drawing attention." She put her head down on my chest, " I don't care, this is actually kind of nice" I wrapped my arms around her and took a deep breath, which felt like the first one I had taken in days.

Our brief bliss was so rudely interrupted, "EW, Get a room ! Or like a cabin, I'm pretty sure we have a couple of those around." Leo was walking in the direction of the forge yelling over his shoulder. "Come on guys, I understand you love each other but lets not rub it in to those of us who have yet to rescue our damsel." I helped Piper to her feet and she looped her arm through mine, "You know I still have the horn of plenty we can take Leo's advice and just go back to your cabin and eat."

I picked up a subtle hint that she may want to do more than just eat. As a roman I usually had my emotions is complete check, but when it came to Piper I couldn't hide anything. I scooped her up and flew straight through the door of cabin one.

Apparently that subtle hint I thought I was picking up on was one hundred percent correct. The second I put her down she reached for my shirt tugging it up. Once my shirt was off my mouth met hers, and we slowly started backing towards the bed. I gently started to kiss her neck while pulling her shorts down. Our passion was growing with every second. Eventually we were down to my boxers, and her boy short cut underwear. We had never been this far before and it wasn't feeling like they were going to stop.

I looked her in the eye, "Are you sure you want this?" She cupped my cheek, "All I've ever wanted was you." I took that as permission to take off the last bits clothing.

I I didn't really know something could feel this good. It wasn't even the initial pleasure, but just the overwhelming emotional connection I was making with Piper. Every touch, every kiss, it was like ten times more powerful than before. Hearing her say my name, knowing I was the one making her feel this way, it was just, so, amazing.

I was almost there, almost ready to finish. Then the freaked out, "Jason pull out! Pull out now!" I did as she asked just in time. We laid there breathing heavy for a few minutes. I played her hair, for a while, rubbing my hand up and down her back. "Wait I'm confused, I'm wearing a condom whats the problem?" She looked at me with this contemplative expression. "Jason if I tell you a secret, do you promise not to tell anyone?"

Was that even a question, if this girl told me to change my name is Fred I would do it. "Piper you can tell me anything." She bit her lip, "Okay, so, apparently most methods of birth control don't work with children of this big three. So I got a little nervous, I mean as a daughter as Aphrodite I can control, you know, if I get pregnant. But I didn't really want t rely on that."

"And how do you know all this?" She blushed, "Well I talked to my siblings and they told me that if you focus you can..." I cut her off, "No I mean about the other thing, and what's the so called secret?" She blushed even harder now, "I know because... Annabeth is pregnant. Percy's dad told him that the big three are like extra fertile or something. But you have to promise to say nothing to no one."

I stuck out my pinky finger, "Pinky swear." She nestled up to me and fell asleep. As I watched her sleep I freaked out, I've only had sex once, and I'm already terrified to do it again. I really needed Percy now more than ever. Poor Annabeth, she must be going through so much, to get pregnant and than lose Percy all in the same day. It looked like we all needed Percy right now.

I was on the brink of sleep, when I heard it... the scream.


	19. Chapter 19 Luke

I wanted to scream, I wanted to fight, I wanted to... cry. But I couldn't move my own body, I would scratch my ass if it meant I had momentary control over my arms. It all started the day Thalia got the branch, Tartarus sensed they were on to him. He slowly piece by agonizing piece reclaimed my body. Every day my will power dwindled until I was nothing more than a screaming thought. Do you know how loud a thought is? I could be screaming at the top of my lungs, but it would always remain a whisper as soft as a feather floating around the subconscious of my new tenet. My body, my voice, my actions were no longer my own, I had become a stranger in my own body.

The night Percy came to check on me was the night Tartarus had planned to make his escape. The door slammed shut behind him and the lights went out. Darkness flooded over the basement, poor Percy didn't stand a chance.

He gave up a good fight, Tartarus was strong but he still had certain limits being in a mortal body.I tried to help, tried to hold myself back, but it was useless I might as well have been trying to control the force, yes I am Luke, but I am no Luke Skywalker.

Tartarus dealt the final blow, leaving Percy bleeding and unconscious on the floor. I had hoped that he would leave him there, but no such luck.

Now I'm sitting here looking at him even bloodier and in chains. Tartarus was some what of an expert on prisons, so he had no problem making a makeshift one in the woods. He built a little hut for himself with four walls entirely out of stone, and in the corner was what he liked to call the holding cell. The bars were made of celestial bronze layered with a thick coating of venom. That's were Percy was, chained to wall, dirty, bloody, and for the most part hopeless.

I had seen glimpses of Tartarus' plans, not much, only what he let slip, but it looked awful. I could only pray to the gods that Percy could pull off yet another miracle. At this point I don't even care if I ever get free, I don't care if I die, I just wanted to save my friends.

Tartarus cackled, "Oh Lucas, I am going to enjoy feeling your extreme discomfort and agony as I kill your friends. But first I need to officially put a stop to all this spear business. And what better place to start than the root. That pretty little blond, has a lot going on under those curls doesn't she. Very clever that one, which is why she must be the first to go."

If Percy was going to wake up now would be a great time. Yet his body still remained motionless. Not that I blamed the guy he was tortured for hours the night before.

Next thing I know we were up and moving, heading toward the row of cabins. The sun had just set, I could hear the campers heading back to their cabins after their dinner. I remember those days, I can't remember why I ever resented that life. Now, in the light of my current situation I felt like a stupid kid throwing a tantrum because my daddy worked too much.

We crept in the shadows right up to Percy's cabin. Makes sense that she would be staying here. We walked up the three steps to the front door in silence, which was maddening because I knew for a fact that the second step usually creaked louder than any other one in the entire camp. He walked up to the side of her bed and brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. How many times had I done that when we were growing up, and now it just made me sick.

"Come Annabeth, wake up now love. I would hate for you to be late to your own slaughter." Her eyes flew open just as she screamed. Tartarus just laughed, "Go ahead, scream, let all your little friends know you are in trouble, it wont matter. He scooped her up and walked out the front door. Why wasn't she struggling, putting up a fight, this wasn't like her. She just curled up into a ball, protecting herself.

Thalia's brother Jason flew over sword in hand. Man that kid looked like he hated me, part of me would like to think he was looking at Tartarus that way, but I think some of it was aimed towards me. Tartarus put our hand to the ground, a hole appeared and hell hounds came pouring out.

"Let that keep you busy. Fair warning though, you could just go back to your cabins and you will all survive the night. But if should choose to fight, one of you will die in the process."


	20. Chapter 20 Leo

I got to the party a little late, but I came prepared. I had just finished the sword I had been working on. It took me about a year, it was just the right length and weight. Naturally it had a few modifications, such as the button on the hilt that heats the blade up to temperature hot enough to melt metal. I named it saber... you know kind of like a light saber. Dorky I know but honestly it was just a distraction. The GPS was still trying to locate Calypso's island. It was so close, only days away by now.

Jason and the gang were completely surrounded by hell hounds, but that wasn't the odd part of the picture. They weren't doing anything about it. They were all just standing there, looking defeated. I figured this would be the perfect time to show off my new sword, and if we're already showing off, I might as well show them my new fighting skills. I had grown a lot in the past couple months, as well as filling out. I'm no where close to the rest of the guys, but I no longer look like a lost little boy next to them.

I drew saber and ran towards the nearest hell hound, I could feel Jason whirl around to look at me, "Leo STOP! NO!" Next thing I know I'm being tackled, so much for my new combat skills. I stood up and brushed the dirt off my pants, "Yo Jason, not cool man." He picked up my sword and handed it to me, "Sorry man, but you weren't here, Tartarus gave us an ultimatum." We walked over to the rest of the group while the pack of hounds eyed us, quietly growling. "He said if we fought tonight someone would die, but if we just went back to our cabins we would all survive the night. The only thing is, if we don't fight through these hell hounds he's going to kill Annabeth.

I let out a sigh, this was not a good predicament to be in, either way one of us dies. No one was really talking, it was like no one wanted to voice their opinion. I didn't blame them, whatever choice they made they were still condemning someone to death. I was mid thought when Nico spoke up, "Guys you may hate me for this, but I think we need to fight. What better way to die than to die fighting to save someone you love. There is no way I'm going back to my cabin tonight knowing that I had the chance to save my friends; I will not crawl under the covers and hide."

We all just nodded. Jason walked over to Piper and swept her up in a kiss. The other followed in suit giving silent promises that they wont be the one to die. I threw out a prayer to Calypso, letting, "Just another minor set back, but I made you a promise, and I will keep my promise."

Jason drew his sword and turned to face the line of hell hounds.

We all charged slicing and stabbing. At first the progress was slow, but the more momentum we built the faster the hounds fell in clouds of dust. One of them was about to pounce on Frank when I pushed the button of my hilt and jumped on top of it. I threw the sharp blade down through the skull and drug it back all the way to the tail. I landed in a mess of blood and dust in front of a very surprised Frank. He threw out a fist, and I bumped it, "No need for thanks now Frank, just focus on not dying." He laughed , "I could say the same to you hobbit." He threw a spear at a hound that was moments away from biting my leg off. I ran off to find something else to kill. But in the back of my mind I was just thinking, did Frank really just call me a hobbit? I must be wearing off on him.

I looked around and we were definitely winning. It looked like Hazel and Piper were taking down a hell hound together while Frank and Jason each had one of their own. They all quickly finished off what was left of Tartarus defensive line.

I had no idea how long Nico had been standing next to me, but he made me jump, "I don't like this, Tartarus isn't the kind of person to make an empty threat. He said someone was going to die, and other than a few scratches we're all fine."

Once the last hell hound was dead we didn't waste much time running off into the woods in what I'm assuming was the direction Tartarus went in. I fell in kind of behind everyone, Jason and Frank were in front followed by Piper and Hazel, then Nico, then me. I preferred to think of it as a compliment, like we trust you to protect our back Leo, rather than back of the line Leo.

We arrived a creepy little, what was a good word... hovel? Yeah that seemed to fit perfectly. We walked up to the door, right up to the door of an evil deity who wanted to kill us all. Without Annabeth it was kind of hard to come up with any clever plans. Jason kicked down the door and we all piled in, covering each others back.

We could hear him laughing as we say him step out from the shadows. "So you chose to fight, how brave. But my warning still holds true." We could see Percy chained to the wall in a cell, While Annabeth was tied up in the corner in the room just outside the cell. "You see your friend Perseus here is slowly dying, due to the fact that I am draining every once of life force. This mortal body is not enough for me. He is only minutes away from death. His death along with the death of Ms. Chase here is inevitable, but yours is optional. Leave. Now."

I was so sick of everyone telling me what to do! Because I was in the back it was easy for me to skirt around the flank. I sliced through his cafe, bringing him down to one knee. Then I brought it down to rest on the back of his neck. He giggled. that made me furious, so I clicked the button and the blade slowly started to warm up. His giggles stopped. "Oh Leo, young boy, remove the sword now or I kill Percy." I didn't budge an inch, "No, how about I move the blade, when you release him AND Annabeth." His skin started to turn red and blister under the heat, "It would be so much easier to just kill them, Percy screamed, eyes contorted in pain. I slowly pulled the blade away. "That's a good boy."

Percy was breathing heavy, dark circles under his eyes, drenched in sweat, blood, and grime. He tried to talk but his voice was horse, "Leave...Leave them... Alone." It was hard to take him seriously when he was shaking and could barley keep his eyes open." Annabeth wiggled in the corner trying her hardest to remove the gag from her mouth. She made one last struggle and her lips broke free, " Guys! I translated it wrong it didn't say bone of a fallen hero it said blade!" Tatarus walked over to her and backhanded her knocking her unconscious. "AAHHH!" Percy yelled in frustration, when I lookd over his eyes looked like they were swirling like the sea during a storm. His breaths came in heaves as his anger built and built. He screamed again, then cracks started to spread all over the walls and floor. "I said, Leave. Them. ALONE!" An earthquake overtook the hovel, the foundation shook and the walls began to crumble. Percy pulled free of his chains and waited until the walls crumbled around him taking his prison bars with him. "Tartarus honestly looked shocked, "But. What. How?"

The swirling in his eyes got deeper and more intense. "I am Percy, son of Poseidon. God of the sea and conveniently enough... earthquakes. I told you to leave my loved ones alone! You say you are draining my life force? You can not drain the Ocean, you can not contain nor control it. I AM the open sea and you have not headed my warning. It's a known fact that I can control water, and do you know what has lots of water? The human body, much like the one you are inhabiting. On average sixty percent of the human body is made up of water." Tartarus froze. "Do you feel that Tartarus, the gravity that is pulling you down. Perhaps I should drain you of that water, then your vessel will die and you will be stuck inside it. Forever."

Man Percy was really starting to scare the hell out of me. He walked over and gently brushed a lock out of Annabeths face. Tartarus took this to his advantage he made a huge sword appear out of no where he brought it up and then started to bring it down. There was no time to warn Percy, everyone was shouting but the more they tried to warn him the more jumbled it all sounded.

I did the only thing I could. I stepped in front.

I took the blow, for Percy Jackson.


	21. Chapter 21 Thalia

I had been in my room for a week. After I collected the tree branch I retreated to cabin one. I knew what they were making that branch into, and I didn't want to think about it. That branch had the capability of killing the boy I loved, I felt guilty have taken any part of it. I heard a scream in the middle of the night. My natural instinct was to grab my sword and shield and run to help. But I was afraid. I was afraid that when I found the source of the screaming... it would be Luke. Not really Luke, but his body, inflicting pain on someone else. I didn't think I could handle something like that, so I pulled the covers up over my head and tried to keep the tears form overflowing.

My eyes were heavy but I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes I saw scenes of carnage, sometimes of Luke, sometimes of the others being killed _by_ Luke. The sun was starting to creep in under the door. At this point my eyes were stinging, the salty tears just making them worse. That's when the earthquake hit, a crack spread through the floor. I got up and walked over to the now crooked door and opened it. The sun was rising, this was going to be the day, I could feel it. I walked over to Percy's cabin and took the spear out of the tub of sea water it was soaking in. I walked it back to my cabin and sat down on the porch.

At this point there were only two steps left; sharpened by the bone of a fallen hero and dipped in the blood of an innocent. Neither sounded so welcoming. I was sitting there when I saw them, the rest of the group was running towards me. Jason was holding a body. My first instinct was that it would be Luke's, but that body was much too small. I sighed with relief, then I felt awful. That was still a human being, who was obviously dead or dying and I was just relieved that it wasn't Luke. As they got closer I recognized the limp body as Leo.

This wasn't the goofy Leo that made me laugh under that tree the day they decided to Let Luke live. He wasn't smiling, he wasn't laughing, he wasn't even breathing. This was my fault, if I had just let them kill Luke non of this would have happened.

Jason rushed up the steps and gently put Leo down on the porch, "We need to stop the bleeding." There was a huge gash starting from his left shoulder, leading all the way down to his right hip. His eyes were closed, his skin pale. This is what death looked like.

I took of my hoodie and pressed it to his wound trying to help, "What happened?" Jason looked at me with guarded eyes, "Tartarus... he went after Percy and Leo stepped in front." I sucked in my breath. This boy had once justified the decision to let Luke live, and now he was on his death bed because of that very decision.

Percy was on the bottom step attempting to comfort a very stressed looking Annabeth. She nodded her head at whatever he was saying. He kissed her cheek and came up to where we were. "I think I might be able to help. There's a lot of water in blood maybe I can try and stop the bleeding." He put his hand on Leo's bloodied chest, for a moment it was working, the blood slowly started seeping back into his body. It looked just like what happens when Percy heals himself with water. After a few seconds Leo's eyes slowly fluttered open, followed by a heavy gasp. His breathing sounded painful, each breath sounded like a gurgle.

Piper grabbed his hand, "Come on Leo, you can't die." He grimaced, "Ah Pipes, I'm pretty sure... I can." Even while dying he tried to make everyone laugh. But nobody did. He looked to Percy, "Percy... you can't... save me. The cut is...too deep. You need... to let... me... go." There was not a dry eye in sight. Hazel buried her face in Frank's shoulder, Frank was patting her hair, but it was obvious that he was crying too. Percy shook his head, "I'm not giving up on you Leo! You saved my life, now It's my turn.!" Leo chocked out what I assume was supposed to be a laugh. "You have. On more... than one... occasion. You've...saved the... whole world. Take... my... blade. Sharpen the...spear. That's... all I ask." He started coughing and blood dribbled down his chin. Percy wasn't even trying to hide his tears as they streaked down his cheek and landed on Leo. "I'm so sorry Leo, I never really gave you the chance you deserved. You're one of the bravest demi gods I have ever met. I'm sorry this happened to you!" Leo took Percy's hand, "This isn't... you're fault. If me death... helps... bring Tartarus... down... then it will not... be in... vain. Just promise... me something." Percy nodded, "Of course, anything." Leo closed his eyes, "Get...calypso... off that island. I made... her a... promise. Tell her... I... I love her."

Those were Leo's last words.

Jason the one person we always looked to for structure even under great pressure, crumbled. He cried into Leo's shoulder before getting up and walking away. He picked up on the chairs on the porch and threw it watching it shatter as it hit a nearby tree. Everyone was in pieces.

I said my prayers over Leo's motionless body, took his sword and began to sharpen the end of the spear.


	22. Chapter 22 Annabeth

Thalia finished sharpening the spear, and brought it to me at the bottom of the stairs. "We just need to dip it in blood and it's done." I nodded, "We'll discuss it tonight. Right now is not exactly the best time."

We had already discussed and decided that by innocent they meant virgin. She had brought it to me in the assumption that I was in fact a virgin. The ancient Greeks used to hold virginal girls to the highest caliber. They would use them at the ultimate sacrifice to the gods. It would make sense that they would have wanted the blood of a virgin on the tip of the spear made to kill the the embodiment of all evil. Virgin's were pure, innocent, everything good; it was only natural that it would oppose everything Tartarus stood for.

That night Leo's brothers and sisters brought forth his shroud. On it were pictures of hammers and bronze dragons. We said out prayers and watched as the flame consumed him. It was tragic irony. His whole life he had the ability to control fire and now it was taking him away from us. It was amazing to listen to the stories. As much as Leo had thought people didn't like him, there didn't seem to be a single person in this camp that he didn't help. People came forward with stories of how he fixed their plumbing or built them custom weapons. He did everything because he wanted to, without any expectation of repayment. We all thought back to all the times he basically saved us just by fixing something. And now our favorite little engineer with his magical tool belt are hopefully in Elysium.

After our quiet dinner we all went back to Cabin three. Where we had most of our meetings. Percy pulled out my chair and helped me into my chair. At this point most of the others knew I was pregnant. Is been a little over a week since I found out that I was pregnant but according to one of Pipers brothers who specialized in babies, I was about three months along. The plans for our wedding had been put off until Tartarus was put down.

Thalia cleared her throat, "Well it's time to uh, dip this in some uh, virgin blood. For obvious reasons we count Annabeth and I out, so how about you Piper?" Piper squirmed and looked uncomfortable while Jason blushed scarlet red. I could feel Percy trying not to laugh next to me. He let out his giggles, "Jason you should see your face man." The tension that was so thick you could have cut it with a knife began to slowly dissolve, and before you knew it everyone was laughing. Jason smiled and shook his head, "It's funny I have Leo to thank for that. He kind of caught us making out and suggested we get a room. So we did." Everyone erupted into laughter again. You could always count on Leo to lighten any situation even in the afterlife.

Hazel raised her hand, "I believe I still qualify for the job." Frank rolled his eyes, "Yeah unfortunately." She swatted at his shoulder, "I'll do it, just tell me what to do." I took out my dagger and slid it down the table to where she was sitting, "Just cut your palm and let enough blood drip out that we can dip the spear in it." Frank handed her an empty bowl, with a worried look. "It goes against my nature to let you voluntarily hurt yourself." Hazel kissed his cheek, "I'll be fine, just a scratch and then it's over."

She sliced her palm open and held it over the bowl. After a minute or two Frank tore off a piece of shirt and wrapped it around her hand. She ate some ambrosia and watched as her hand started to heal. Between bites she looked at me, "Is that enough?" I nodded, "Yes, plenty." Nico took the spear and dipped it into the blood. The wood absorbed all of the blood quickly, like it was made to do so.

Percy squeezed my hand, "Now that it is complete we can officially go after Tartarus, the only problem now is finding him."


	23. Chapter 23 Percy

This was where I was truly at peace. Annabeth was asleep in my arms. It was only a little after nine but she was falling asleep a lot earlier these days, pregnancy takes a lot out of people. My hand rubbed up and down her belly, swollen with our child, she was due in about a month. We had hoped that we could have been married before she gave birth but, we wanted to wait until Tartarus was killed until we did that. I've spent the last two weeks begging her just to have a small ceremony just for us. Then we could have another one, a big one once all of this was over. But she can be so stubborn. She's under the impression that any second now Tartarus is just going to show up and let us kill him.

The baby started kicking, I really wish I knew if it was a boy or a girl. I had a feeling it was a girl, but Annabeth said she thought it was a boy. I had never, and I mean EVER taken a bet against Annabeth but in this one solitary moment I did. I figured it was a fifty/fifty chance, so my odds weren't too bad.

There was a light knock on the door. Not loud enough to wake Annabeth up, but just loud enough to make the baby kick again. I gently kissed her forehead, untanggled myself from her and opene he door. It was a very tired looking Jason. "Jason whats going on man? You look exhausted." He gestured for me to come outside, "I think we found him. He's been hiding in the old Labyrinth entrance. As we learned earlier he cant cross the border that keeps the monsters out. It seems that the border works more like a wall then a door. He has set up defenses but nothing we can't handle. Frank, Nico, and the Stoll brothers are waiting just outside camp. Piper and Hazel agreed to stay here and watch over Annabeth. Tartarus wanted her dead before so we didn't want to take any risk of leaving her behind."

I got dressed and grabbed riptide, with one last glance at the girl I loved, asleep and clueless I walked out the door. There Piper, her brother Glen, the one who had been taking care of Annabeth and the baby, and Hazel were waiting. "Take good care of her." Piper smiled and put her hand on my shoulder, "We wont let anything bad happen to her I promise." I took a deep breath and ran off to meet the others.

Frank had the spear in hand, his grip getting tighter the longer we waited. We had finally arrived at Tartarus' camp, it felt unreal, to be so close to finishing all of this. The problem that had plagued us for so long. We surrounded the door made out of stone, much like the one before. Before they had just walked up without a plan. Not this time. I had perfected my powers of earthquakes. I sent a small ripple through the ground and watched as a crack spread up through the door. Jason then through a great gust of wind to send the pieces of the door flying in every which direction.

Visible blackness seeped out of the cavity that was Tartarus' "home". I heard that too familiar laugh, "So after so many months, you have found me." Slowly he emerged from the shadows, just enough moonlight to illuminate his blond hair. "Oh look you've managed to complete the spear. How does that little runt Leo fair? Dead I presume, otherwise I doubt you could have completed it." Jason lost his temper for a split second, and a streak of lightning struck the ground right next to where he was standing.

The Stoll brothers had flanked him, Jason took the left side, I took the right, and Frank we head on with the spear in hand. We had practiced this formation at least a hundred times. Father I pray to you now, please let this work. Frank Lunged with the spear, but at the last minute turned into an anaconda the spear fell at my feet while Frank wrapped himself tightly around Luke's body. Jason blew wind all around Tartarus' face, making it impossible for him to think, or tell which direction he was facing. Conner tackled him from behind while Travis grabbed his legs. Tartarus tried to yell out but Jason's wind drowned out any sound he made. I walked up to the squirming disoriented deity, the spear in my hand. I just needed to find a non lethal place to stab Luke.

Travis held down a leg for me, a perfect spot, yes it might hinder Luke's walking for a while but at least he wont be possessed. I lifted the spear above my head and thrust it down aiming for his thigh.

At the last second Tartarus squirmed and I missed my target.


	24. Chapter 24 Luke

I felt the spear like a white hot iron, it pierced my skin like a toothpick would go through soft butter. It was getting harder to see, harder to breath. It was like if Tartarus was going to go he was going to take me with him. But he couldn't, I wouldn't let him. I had been separated from my family for way too long. I clung to life for Thalia, for her touch, and the life we could have together. I clung to life for Annabeth, and the big brother duties I needed to catch up on. I clung to life for Percy the best friend I was sure to have. I clung to life for camp half blood, and all the campers I needed to make it up to. I clung to life.

Bright lights flashed from my eyes, black smoke billowed from my mouth and ears. It tasted like charcoal, it made me want to throw up. The pain spread all throughout my body. Tartarus had his hooks in me deep and he wasn't going to go without a fight. The smoke was getting thicker and thicker, it was nearly impossible to breath. I had reached the pinnacle, my pain threshold, I was about to pass out. It felt like all the pain had condensed to the center of my body, my very core. Then a final burst of agony and bright lights it all stopped.

When I woke up Percy's face was getting closer, and when I say closer I mean way too close, it looked like he was about to kiss me. More than likely he was about to CPR, but I rather not cheat on Thalia. "Wow there Jackson, no need for that." he stopped what he was doing, and stared at me for a couple heart beats before he tackled me. "LUKE! You're back! Which means Tartarus is gone ! Which mean we won!" I laughed , "Good deduction skills Sherlock I see Annabeth really is wearing off on you." I tried to get up but there was a sharp pain that went up my leg and back. Percy blushed, "Sorry man, I kind of uh stabbed you. I was aiming for your thigh, you know flesh wound. But then you squirmed and I missed and I hit you in the uh.." He pointed to my butt, "Ah, well you always were a pain in my ass Jackson." Jason walked up behind Percy and handed me a square of ambrosia.

"Thanks Jason." He just nodded and walked away, It's so hard to get a read on that guy. The throbbing in my butt started to slowly dim. As I slowly stood up, wobbly, but I least I was in control of those wobbly legs.

We walked back to camp, sharing stories the whole time. Mainly the many adventures they all had been on while I was dead. The most impressive one being their conquest over Ghea and the giants. I didn't really know Leo other than the few stories Thalia would tell me when she came to visit. But the more I hear about all these stories the more I feel for the guy. He did everything he could for his friends, and I had to watch as my body betrayed me and cut him down.

I tried to act like I was okay, but it was definitely not convincing Percy. Instead of attracting attention to it he just changed the subject. "So Annabeth's due sometime next month, You should be happy to know that Lucas is in the mix when it comes to names. And now that Tartarus is gone, we can finally start planning our wedding." That thought must have not occurred to him because that look crossed his face. Most people who didn't know Percy didn't really recognize the look. But Percy tended to just nod a lot when it came to people talking about things he should know but he doesn't. He hates to admit that he doesn't understand something. And in those moments that he does understand something, especially when its something most people would think he would he gets the look.

"Sorry Luke I would love to sit and chat with you, but I have a wedding to plan, besides it looks like you got some company of your own."

As Percy ran off I herd some whistling, and when it turned to find the source I was not disappointed. "Looking good Luke." Thalia was standing there leaning on a tree looking as gorgeous as ever. She ran up to me and crushed her lips to mine, "I missed you so much." I stroked the back of my hand across her cheek, "I've missed you too. I was so scared I would never have this again. Being able to touch you. Like really touch you, with no one else in the control booth with me." I kissed her and took her hand, "Lets go back to camp before people start to worry." Jason walked up behind us and cleared his throat, "Yeah lets go back to camp, I thought this was about to get awkward." He had a slight smile.

I let go of Thalia's hand and held it out to him, "Hey man, I'm sorry I haven't had the opportunity to properly introduce myself. I'm Luke, and I would like to officially ask your permission to date your sister." His eyes grew a little as he looked from me to his sister and back to me. "Uh, honestly I was prepared to be the hard ass little brother until you proved to be worthy to date my sister, but I guess I cant do that if I give you permission." I laughed, "I tell you what, if you give me permission to date Thalia, I give you permission to give me a hard time anytime you want." He smiled and shook my hand, "Sounds like a deal."

By the time we reached Percy's cabin he was pacing outside. He obviously had been pacing for a while because there was a distinct rut. Jason walked up to him , "Percy you okay?" He nodded really fast, "Yeah, yeah sure. You know Glen's in there doing his monthly check up. Apparently were having twins. You know, no big deal. Just two kids instead of one. My dad really wasn't kidding about the big three being fertile." The whole time he never stopped pacing, "Piper's in there by the way, finally making wedding arrangements." He was about to explode with stress, it was a little scary.

"Aye big man on Camp, the stressed look doesn't work for you. Isn't there supposed to be a wedding. I mean that's the whole reason I'm here! Dude seriously calm down eat some herbs or something. "

I had never seen Percy go from stressed to happy so quickly before. "GROVER! You're here!"


	25. Chapter 25 Jason

I was so ready to hate Luke, but it's really hard. Ever since the guy came back from possession he was nothing but great. He woke up extra early in the morning to make sure all the perimeters were holding, he taught multiple sword fighting classes, and to top it off he was the sweetest boyfriend ever to my sister. He walked her everywhere, always holding her hand, always hanging on to her every word. I thought back to the day when I had had argued until I was out of breath that we should kill him. I find it almost impossible to justify the way I felt that day, there's no way this boy was evil.

After breakfast I walked by the new monument just on the edge of the woods, under a tree Thalia claimed to be important. It was a simple statue, a small dragon. Leo would forever be remembered through Festus, he would always be the boy who tamed bronze dragons, built flying ships, and sacrificed his life to save the camp from Tartarus.

I knelt down and took a seat next to the beautiful yet disappointing memorial. "Hey man, I don't really know if you can hear me. I would like to think that you can, that you're down there in Elysium, sipping nectar and building little gadgets. Today's the big day, Percy and Annabeth are getting married. It's a real shame you're not going to be here for it. Its hard here without you. Like really hard. I replay that moment in my head over and over again. I should have done something. I should have saved you." I could feel the tears welling up, "I just stood there, I did nothing. I have all these great powers, and I did nothing! Some friend I am. I'm sorry..."

I let the tears spill over my cheeks, but quickly wiped them away when a shadow came up behind me. "I'm so sorry about your friend." I turned to face Luke who oddly looked just a sad I felt. "Yeah, he was a great guy." Luke nodded, "It takes a great man to put the safety of others before his own." He sat down next to me, "I try and stay strong in front of your sister but the truth is, I'm kind of struggling. I've caused this world a lot of pain. I was there when Kronos terrorized New York, I was there when Tartarus brought down that blade. It's hard to have those kind of memories and not think of myself as a monster. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that I even deserve this second chance. But I would be a fool to waste it."

He put his head in his hands, "I'm not trying to make you feel sorry for me, believe me that's the last thing I want. I just... I want you and I to have a good relationship you know." I nodded and gave him a pat on the back, "It may have been your body, but it wasn't you. You have to believe that, you are a good person. Just the fact that you're this torn up is proof that you have a good heart. I understand you not wanting to tell Thalia, she would go into overprotective mode. We tend to do that in our family." He gave me a knowing smile, "You Grace's are tough cookies, I've always admired that."

He stood up and patted the head of the dragon, "I say we start a tradition, we'll tell all the campers that rubbing the dragon head is good luck. You know that way someone will always be here to keep Leo company. His legacy will live on forever." I rubbed mini festus' head, "Sounds like a great idea to me."

We started to head over to Percy's cabin Annabeth was due any day and Piper spent all of her time over there putting the finishing touched on the wedding. It was supposed to take place this afternoon, so the cabin was buzzing around more than usual. Luke looked over to me, "I would be proud to step into this battle zone with you." I laughed, "This may be our toughest one yet."

We were laughing as we stepped over the threshold. Piper and Thalia turned and gave us weird looks. Piper just shrugged it off and ran up to me. She jumped up putting her arms around me giving me a quick kiss. "Aren't wedding awesome?" I cleared my throat, "Uh... yeah I guess so." Thalia laughed, "Don't blush so hard Jace, I don't think she's under any impression that you're going to propose any time soon." I let out a deep breath I didn't know I was holding. Piper just giggled and went back to work. She picked up two suits and walked them back over to me and Luke. "Percy and Grover are over at Cabin one getting ready. Go get dressed and meet us over by the docks in two hours." Luke saluted, "Yes Ma'am." He gave Thalia a kiss on the cheek and wink and turned and left.

I didn't really know what to expect when I walked into my cabin, but it definitely wasn't this. Grover was playing his reed pipes over in the corner next to the statue of my dad, and Percy... well he was... kind of stones. Luke dropped his tux, "Grover! What Happened?" Grover stopped his playing, "Okay calm down it's not what it looks like, he's fine I promise. " Luke walked over and pointed at Percy, "You call this fine? Oh gods she's going to kill me." I stepped up behind him, "Who's going to kill you?" He started to pace, "Annabeth, Thalia, Piper, I don't know take your pick."

Grover shook his head, "No one's going to kill you because he's fine. Just let me finish speaking this time." He waited to see if we were going to interrupt. When it was obvious we were going to let him talk he continued, "He was stressing out to the max! Like I'm talking pacing, muttering to himself, the whole nine yards. He hadn't gotten more then a couple hours of sleep the past few days so I.." I stopped him, "So you got him high... on his wedding day?" He groaned, "Man did I not just say don't interrupt me... NO! I played a song on my pipes, it just put him a stress free trance, give him some time to recharge. Watch its so easy to snap him out of it."

He walked over to where Percy was sitting, paused for a second, then slapped him. Percy snapped to attention, "Wow, what happened, where am I? Am I married? Annabeth?"

I couldn't help it, I started laughing. "Dude, Percy, You're in Cabin one." He looked around, "Oh." Luke rolled his eyes and went to go change.

Grover was the best man, and me and Luke were the groomsman. Piper was the made of honor, and Hazel and Thalia were the bridesmaids. They all looked beautiful, in their matching turquoise dresses. The whole ceremony was nicely done, but I would have to say the vows were my favorite part.

Annabeth cleared her throat while a slight blush spread over her cheeks. "Percy, we met when we were twelve, and I found you drooling in the big house. I was so sure that you were the key to my future. Maybe not the way I thought but none the less I knew. I knew you were the one to take me on a big important quest, on an adventure. You have made my life one big adventure, and I can't imagine life without you. You are my rock, my heart, my life. I love you so much, and I look foreword to our gods forbidding long happy lives together. I love you seaweed brain."

Percy went to kiss her but Chiron stopped him, "Not yet." Percy rolled his eyes, "Okay so apparently I need to embarrass myself before the big guy let's me kiss you so here it goes. You've always been there for me, even in the most dangerous of times. I've always been hopelessly in love with you, even if it took me a while to realize it. I'm sure you knew before I did, it's no secret that you know everything before I do. It's one of the many things I love about you. I love you so much, that when I took that bath in the river styx the only thing I thought about was you. You were my anchor, my tie to mortal life. I may not be be invincible anymore, but you will always be my tie to reality, and I will always put my life on the line for you without second thought. I love you wise girl. You and are soon to be doubled in size family."

And then finally Mr. and Mrs. Percy Jackson kissed.


	26. Chapter 26 Piper

"I just love a good wedding! It was SO beautiful! Wasn't it beautiful Jace? Jason? Are you even listening?" He in fact was not listening, and judging by the look on his face he had not been listening for quite some time now.

I wove my fingers in between his as we walked back to the cabins. The reception had just ended and like the natural gentleman he is he offered to walk me. But I could tell something was bothering him. I pulled him to a stop, "What's wrong?" He slowly lifted his eyes from his feet to meet mine, "I've just been thinking... about New Rome. Don't get me wrong, I think camp halfblood is great, but it doesn't really offer anything for demigods after they start their lives you know." I gave him a knowing smile, "Are you thinking about Annabeth and Percy... or about us?"

He led me over to a bench overlooking the lake, "It started out as about them, what with them getting married and having kids. But the more I thought about it the more I fit us into that puzzle. Eventually we're going to want to start a family, and I never thought I would get that opportunity anywhere other than New Rome." I gave his hand a good squeeze, "You know we could fix that. I'm sure the campers here would love to have those opportunities. The Athena cabin could be in charge of plans and blueprints. The Hephaestus cabin could be in charge of building it. The Aphrodite and Apollo cabins could be in charge of furnishing and such. We could call it New Greece."

He laughed, "No, not New Greece... how but Elysium. I mean that's the ultimate dream anyways right?" I gave him a kiss on the cheek and laid my head down onto his shoulder, "Sounds perfect to me."

I could tell his mood had softened. It must have really troubled him to try think about a future without having definite plans. I was relieved that he was having those same problems because I had been to embarrassed to say anything but I had been feeling the same way for months now. And I know Annabeth and Percy do too, they definitely don't want to live and raise their children in cabin three, but they also don't think they're ready to leave camp.

"This is going to be fun!" He nodded, but his eyes looked sad again. "What is it this time?" He eyebrows pinched together, the way they only do when he's fighting tears. It's rare to see his tough roman exterior crack, and show whats underneath. "It's just... this would be something that... that Leo would have been all over you know. He would have been off making blueprints and little models at just the suggestion." His roman exterior had n't just cracked, it had shattered. Tears spilled down his cheeks, yet he still looked beautiful, he still looked like the strongest person I had ever met.

"Don't worry we'll make him proud, I know we will." He nodded and kissed my forehead. I looked out to the sun sitting over the lake. The sun had just barley touched the water, it's tendrils reaching out. It looked like the sun had melted into the water, its liquid gold spreading around in strange patterns. The sky was a mix of pinks and purples. The ending to yet another day, another day that we have survived. The sun was just a symbol for hope, it tells us in the morning that we were lucky enough to be alive another day. In the afternoon, it reminds us of life's simple beauty. It reminds us that within the many hours since we awoke that morning we have managed to remain alive in a world that doesn't care if we live or die. It also reminds us that with every sunset, comes peace, followed by yet another sunrise. "It's beautiful." This time he answers, "Yes, very Beautiful."


	27. Chapter 27 Percy

Ouch. OWWWW. Oh my gods oh my gods just breathe. This hurt so bad but there was no way I was going to say that out loud, not when she was the one giving birth. I could fix my hand after, I needed to be there for her now. You would never know by the look on my face that Annabeth was literally crushing my hand. My sword hand no less.

She was a few days early, and as much as I begged our birth plan did not include a water birth. So here I was holding her hand while Glen coached her through a natural birth. At first I was concerned that another man was getting a clear view of my wife's lady bits. But now I was just praying that he could help her get through this fast enough. She seemed like she was in a lot of pain and it was putting me on edge. I've always been there to help her burden, ease her pain. But I couldn't help this time, I couldn't make the pain go away. All I could do was sit here, hold her hand, and say soothing things. She face was slick with sweat, her breath labored, but on her face was nothing but determination. She was the bravest woman I had ever met.

It had been hours, or at least it felt like it, time wasn't really a priority of mine at the moment. Glen finally looked up at Annabeth, "Okay are you ready to push?" Annabeth swallowed and nodded her head. "Glen nodded back, alright so on the count of three... one. two. THREE." "AHHHHHHHHHHH!" She leaned forward, her face contorted in pain. With every push came more screaming, until a new sound entered the chaos of the old ones. It was quiet at first, but grew louder and louder.

"Boy" Glen placed a little human in my hands. This is my son. He had his moms blond hair and my sea green eyes. His little heart was beating so fast, his hand clamped tight around my pinky. I wanted to just sit there and marvel in the moment. But alas there was still one more child to be born. Annabeth looked at me, " Noah, Noah Robert Jackson." We had a deal that she could name the boys and I could name the girls. Apparently Noah is a biblical name, and this dude sailed around for forty days and forty nights. Sounds like a great guy to me. And Robert was of course after our friend we had to leave behind... Bob. He saved our lives in Tartarus and now we honor him.

At this point had let go of my hand and was clutching the side of our bed. She was taking deep breaths, "Okay one more to go, I can do this. I can do this. I think I'm ready." Glen gave her a comforting pat on the leg, "Alright when you're ready." I wanted to detach that hand from his wrist and feed it Festus. Piper came up behind me, "It's okay Percy, he plays for the other team. He's not at all interested in your wife. I blushed I had no idea I was making my discomfort so obvious.

Annabeth had started pushing again, this time her mouth was clamped shut, and her teeth were gritted. That look of pure determination was the dominate if not only feature on her face. I looked at her now, and I did not see pain, I did not see fear, I did not see fatigue . She heroic, and brave, and I loved her. Little Noah was sucking on my knuckle slowly falling asleep. He was big and healthy looking, that's all I could have prayed for.

"Girl" I didn't even know I was in my own little world with Noah until he called out that word. Oh gosh, this was it, now it was my turn to name our child. I handed Noah to Annabeth who was practically glowing with relieve. I turned to Glen who handed me a tiny baby girl. Black hair and big gorgeous gray eyes. I nuzzled her into the crook of my elbow. "Gracie Beth Jackson... Welcome to our crazy little world."

I handed her to Annabeth who was now holding both of our little creations. I held my breath and looked at my beautiful family. I am a dad. Me... Percy Jackson. I created two small little humans. I am now responsible for them. I would have thought that that idea would have terrified me, but looking at them now I couldn't think of my life any other way. I mean come on I had a good looking family, all we needed was a white picket fence and a dog and we're perfect.

Piper shoved me over towards them, "We'll don't be shy, I want to get a picture of you guys before we let everyone else in to see them." I took Gracie, while Annabeth held Noah and we smiled while a couple flashes went off. Then one by one the rest of the group filed in to see. After that it was a parade of pats on the back, congrats, can I hold him, can I hold her, they are gorgeous. Piper was helping Annabeth put the clothes my mom sent us on the kiddos. Noah was wearing a little blue onesie with a big elephant on it. And Gracie had a pink one with a giraffe.

Nico was standing next to Glen, Glen said something and Nico giggled and ran his hand through his hair. Everyone seemed happy today, even Nico was making friends. I sat down next to Annabeth and leaned my forehead against hers. She sighed, "Aren't we lucky, our kids were born on the same day we get married. I guess now you'll never forget our anniversary." I laughed and kissed her forehead, "I could never forget this day. It's been the best day of my life." She leaned into my shoulder and closed her eyes. Within minutes she was sound asleep, I gently got up and walked over and took my new babies from the people leaving. A chorus of whispered goodbyes, good-nights, and final congratulations followed them all out.

I cradled them both in both of my arms. I lightly hummed a lullaby that I distantly remembered from my younger days. I heard a poof in the corner of the room. I turned around to see my father standing over a brand new rocking chair humming the very same song I was just humming. "I used to sing that song to you, especially on the nights you had nightmares." His eyes beamed as he looked at Noah and Gracie. "I've had so many children, but it's extremely rare that I ever have grandchildren... Can I ?" He gestured to take them from me. I hesitated for only a moment, not wanting to hand them over. But this was my father, I placed them in his hands. He cooed and bounced up and down, and continued humming. I wondered how many times he had done this to me. How many memories I didn't have because I was too young. He looked back to me, " I made this rocking chair myself. I carved it out of drift wood from the shores of Oak harbor, a little island of the coast of the state of Washington. Naturally there are a few enchantments. It soothes and comforts those who sit it in it. Help you get better night sleep." The chair was bone weight with a few pebbles pushed in to the armrests.

"Thanks dad, it really means a lot that you came." He placed the kids down into cribs that matched the rocking chair, "They said we had to stay away from our children , they never said anything about our grandchildren." He winked and disappeared.


	28. Chapter 28 Nico

The whole time Annabeth was giving birth the whole group was standing close outside the door, just waiting for the signal that it was okay to come in. Jason made a joke that Percy probably wasn't to happy with another dude looking at Annabeth's private parts. And then Hazel laughed and said the he shouldn't be, because Glen was homosexual. I shouldn't have been as excited as I was. I mean just because I found out there's another homosexual boy here doesn't mean anything. Maybe I don't find him attractive, maybe he's dull. Considering my last crush was Percy Jackson, this new mystery man had a lot to live up too. Which wasn't really fair because he didn't even know he was being judged.

As soon as everyone pooled into cabin three, I saw him. He was definitely handsome, I mentally kicked myself, of course he was attractive his mother was Aphrodite. He was tall, maybe a few inches taller than me. His muscles were toned, but not bulky, his hair was a honey color, you know kind of brown, with just a little hint of red. Then there was his eyes, they were a burst of colors, the predominate one being a dark, hard blue. His glasses sat at the edge of nose, which was spattered with a patch of freckles.

So... I guess you could say I was attracted. I found myself naturally gravitating towards him. He was talking to Piper about something so I thought I would join the conversation. "She did great, I knew she was strong, but she really was amazing. You should have seen the look on Percy's face when I handed him Noah, it was like shock and protectiveness all at once. It really was adorable. Then when I handed him Gracie you could just see the father daughter bond forming. I just love this, I'm so glad I was blessed with the gift of being great with babies." I nudged him, "So he didn't break your hands for touching his girl?" Those knowing eyes met mine, "I think we both know he was okay with it, well at least he was after Piper told him my little secret." He winked at me, oh gosh he knows. There's no way I'm that obvious. I blushed and ran my hand through my hair. He smiled and stepped a little closer to me, if I wasn't obvious before I'm pretty sure I just sealed my fate. "So Nico, how long have you known about my uh, little secret." I lookd at my feet, "Not long, only about an hour actually." He mussed up my hair, "No need to be embarrassed, I'm not going to tell anyone." I picked up my eyes to meet his, he had pushed his glasses up, but his eyes were still beautiful.

Everyone began filing out, I could feel his presence right behind me. When we got out everyone naturally split up. Jason and Piper to cabin one. Luke and Thalia to the big house basement, Hazel and Frank to Hades new cabin. I didn't really want to go back to our cabin if there was going to canoodling. I sighed and thought about where I was going to sleep that night.

A hand came down on my shoulder, "You know you're kind of cute kid." I spun around, "Kid? You do realize I'm probably like quintuple your age right?" Glen whistled, "You're looking good for eighty." I narrowed my eyes, "I'm actually eighty four, but if eighty is quintuple your age, that would make you... 16?" He nodded, "That would be correct, do you think you could find it within yourself to date a younger man." I wanted to say yes, I wanted to say I could definitely date him, but it seems I had lost my voice. So I just nodded. He grabbed my hand and lead me to cabin two, Hera's cabin. He turned on the light as we walked through the door. Everything was covered in dust. No one lived here because Hera being the goddess of marriage didn't have any kids. There was one bed that was completely dust free with a small cooler full of soda and snacks. He turned to a very old looking record player and dropped the needle onto a record. The sound of Kansas filled the room.

He sat down and patted the spot on the bed next to him, motioning for me to sit down. "I come here a lot, to get away from everything. It's not so much that I want to keep my sexuality a secret, but I just don't feel like it's my job to force everyone to be okay with it all the time. My siblings have never expressed any discomfort, but I just like to take a little time away sometimes."

I made a bold move, and took his hand. I knew what that felt like, to be afraid others wouldn't accept me. But he had more guts than I did, at least he told some people. I had only told, one, well now two people. He seemed grateful for my small gesture. He leaned his head onto my shoulder, "You know I'm just a natural cuddle slut, so feel free to let me know when I cross your comfort level." I just laughed, "I think I crossed my comfort level when I followed you in here. There's no going back, and I'm actually kind of enjoying this. It feels like I lifted a huge weight off my chest. It's like for the first time I'm wearing clothes that actually fit, instead of clothes that are way too small constricting my every move. I know that sounds weird but..." He squeezed my hand, "No that makes perfect sense."

We talked about our lives for the majority of the night. As it happened we had many things in common. We liked the same music, books, movies. Moments before falling asleep, him spooning me, I asked him something, "Glen, If you don't mind... I'd like to take your secret and... and make it our secret." He tensed up before kissing the back of my head, "It would be my pleasure."


	29. Chapter 29 Annabeth

It's been a exactly six months today, the twins are officially half a year old. A lot has happened in the past six months, I've been in charge of the construction of Long Island Elysium. Percy's been the best stay at home dad any wife could have asked for. Most would think that he would hate being cooped in cabin three while I worked all day, but he honestly loves it. I see them in the morning, at lunch, and then when I get home around dinner time. It wasn't enough, but it was also temporary. Every morning he gets up and changes their diapers and then I feed them. Then after some breakfast and a little coffee I go off to work and leave him to it. Most of the time he just brings them around camp with him, or as he calls it "Showing off his masterpieces." He brings them down to the lake with their little floaties. They already have a natural love for the water, not to sound selfish but I hope they have a little Athena in them as well. Tonight I came home and found Percy sitting in the rocking chair with Noah and Gracie each in an elbow. There was a book open in his lap but all three of them were asleep. Poseidon said the chair and the cribs would have a magical ability to sooth and lull to sleep. It a blessing to have twins who slept through the night. Of course Percy always forgot so it wasn't unusual to find asleep in the chair. I asked him about it once and he said it smelled like the sea, when I sit it in it I smell the pages of an old book. The chair must make us smell and feel things that comfort us most. Naturally Percy was drooling, but what was so adorable was the fact that little Noah was drooling too, just like his dad. I picked up Gracie first, sucking her thumb, she squirmed a little, but not enough to wake her up. I cradled her in my arms, it still shocks me to think of myself as a mother. Times like this made me a little sad that I wasn't spending more time with them. But in a few days our new cabin would be finished, and then I've decided to hand the reins over to some of the other workers, combined of Athena and Hephaestus cabins. I've earned the right to spend some time with my family, besides it was almost done; I had drawn up the blueprints for the whole mini town. And as long as they followed it correctly they should finish within the next few months. I placed her down in her crib, and went to pick up Noah. He was not letting go as easily, he clung to his daddy. I sighed, and Percy woke up. "What a grip this kids got. I'm telling you, we might have another Hercules on our hands." He smiled that sassy yet charming smile as he stood up and untangled Noah's chubby fingers from his shirt. He kissed my forehead and passed him over to me. I rubbed the drool first from Noah then from Percy. "So what book were you reading them?" He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, "Uhm, my mom sent me a book of Greek Myths, I was reading them the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur." I put Noah down into his crib right next to Gracie's. "Isn't it difficult though. That book's in English, doesn't your dyslexia get in the way?" He just shrugged, "Yeah, sometimes but I pretty much know it, and they cant exactly read or understand me. So if I decide to improvise they don't really seem to notice." He pulled his shirt over his head, in that way only guys can that looks so cute. Next he pulled off his shoes, followed by his jeans. He plopped down on the bed face first into the pillows. He rolled over onto his back, putting his hands behind his back. He had gained a few pounds of muscle in the past year. He still wasn't huge, but he was lean and perfect. "So Mrs. Jackson, It's been a while since you know..." He wagged his eyebrows at me. I jumped on the bed tackling him, "Oh you mean since I kicked your ass?" He rolled over on top of me, "Shh, there are young ears in the room." He smiled and kissed my nose, "Besides I'm pretty sure I could take you." I flipped us over so I was sitting on him."Oh yeah?" He bolted upright, his face inches from mine, "Yeah." He slipped his hands under my shirt on the bare skin, his fingers sliding over the small of my back. I felt a chill go up my spine. He was right it had been a while. It been way too long. I leaned in and kissed him, and let me tell you I wasn't gentle. He went to remove my shirt but instead he ripped it off... and the moment was ruined. We both exploded with laughter. "I can't believe I literally just ripped you shirt off! That's something you only see in the movies!" I leaned my head on his shoulder, "I still can't believe you were that eager to get into my pants." I took my pants off and slipped into a nightgown. When I returned to bed his arms found me and wrapped me up tight. He whispered in my ear, "Goodnight Wise Girl." I squeezed myself into him, "Goodnight seaweed brain." Then the loudest noise I had probably ever heard went off. And thus began the twins crying. And the last good night sleep I would have for a while. 


	30. Chapter 30 Nico

Day by day I could feel the pressure lifting, spending time with him was like breathing clean air, for the first time in years. I hadn't always been this grumpy. I can remember back to the days when I was obsessed with Myths and card games, and excited about the world. Then Bianca died, and I just let the darkness consume me. Being the son of Hades, darkness came to me naturally. I thought I was doomed to the life in the shadows. Then I met Hazel and I saw how kind she was, how soft and loving she could be. Then I decided to give it another try. But by then I had realized my uh... sexuality. Being around Percy was just too difficult. Did I love him, did I hate him for letting my sister die. It was a never ending battle inside me, and sometimes it was just too much. Now that I'm with Glen, I can feel that tension slipping away. I find myself smiling at random times, socializing more. The other day I actually went and spent some time with Percy and the twins, without any problem. Percy may have been my first crush, but now I realized Glen was my first love. And once I admitted that to myself, I realized I no longer resented him for what happened to Bianca. I know that it was in no way actually his fault. I know him, and I know he feels awful. If there was any way for him to save her he would have. We were young he, wasn't as wise or as skilled as he is now. It was naive of me to think he could have. Today Glen and I had celebrated our six month anniversary, I told him I would be okay with officially coming out soon. It was a huge step, coming out to all of my friends, but a necessary step. We had celebrated with a nice dinner, well as nice as can be expected at a summer camp. We had spent the whole night eating, and talking. He told me all of the camp gossip and I in turn would tell him the stories of the gangs many adventures. Apparently we had some type of celebrity status around here. Sometimes he would get so excited listening to a story he would bounce his leg up and down in anticipation. It was nice to have someone's love and respect. After a while we decided to head back to cabin two. It had become our permanent housing, and it was nice. We decided to get an apartment when the new Elysium was complete, which was a little scary. But I have slain monsters, I have been through Tartarus. In comparison I think moving in with my boyfriend is nothing to be worried about, yet it felt so much bigger than the rest. We had been asleep for a couple hours when we heard an extremely loud hit pitched alarm sounding from Hephaestus' cabin. It was no surprise that when we got there a few minutes later there was already about twenty demigods dressed for battle trying to find the source of the noise. Then there was Percy, dressed in his Pjs, hair all messy, and looking very annoyed. It was creepy how much he looked like an adult right now. He looked more like an angry old neighbor coming to tell the kids to keep the party noise level down, than an eighteen year old demigod leader coming to investigate an alarm. He walked into the cabin door. He was only in there for about fifteen minutes and the noise stopped, when he came out he looked pale. I could tell he was trying to keep his tough guy armor on right now, but it was crumbling and fast. He was trying to slip through all the people but I caught his arm, "What's going on?" He picked his eyes up to meet mine and they looked sad, "It's uhm... It's Leos navigation thing. It locked onto Calypso's Island. We have to go get her, we have to go get her, without him. She already hates me. I left her all alone on that damn island. That was real heroic of me. And now I'm going to go save her, and I'm going to have to let her know that he died trying to save me." He pushed his hands through his hair. "I have a family now. Gracie and Noah are only six months old, I don't want to go out on a quest now. I don't want to leave my family!" He had begun pacing. I put my hands on his shoulders to try and calm him down, "Percy, man, calm down, it's okay. I'll go with you, we'll figure it out together. We'll take the Argo II and we'll fly out there, we'll pick her up and we'll come home. It's not exactly mission impossible." He smirked a bit, "Look at me, turning into a worry wart." He shook his head, I don't really know how to tell Annabeth, we kind of have this deal that we wont be separated, like ever again. She can't come with me without bringing the kids and there's no way they are coming, too dangerous." Luke walked up to us, "Is that what I think it is? Is that the navigation alarm?" I looked at him with a puzzled look, "And how would you know anything about that?" He stared at his feet, "I'm the one who killed Leo, so I've kind of made it a habit of learning about him. I've been waiting for it to go off, because I feel like I owe him, I need to go save Calypso." Percy and I shared a sideways glance before Percy turned back to him. "Calypso is the daughter of a Titan, she is extremely powerful. And you plan to just walk up to her and tell her you killed the guy she loved...?" Then he just shrugged, "Oh what the hell, you can come. We leave in three days. Just me, you, and Nico, just like a regular quest." And with that he walked away. As soon as the door of cabin three was closed Luke turned to me, "Nico, I need to talk to you." As a general rule I tried to avoid Luke, it wasn't that I didn't like him, I just didn't exactly meet him on the best of circumstances and its hard to shake that kind of thing off. "Uh sure, whats up?" He looked around to make sure no one was within earshot before continuing, "Your dad is Hades, so I thought maybe you would know how the balance works?" Had this guy gone nuts? I no idea what he was talking about, "I have no idea what you're talking about. What balance?" He rolled his eyes, "You know the balance between life and death, most people believe there's a balance." At that point I knew exactly what he was talking about. I had read about it from a book I found in my dads house. Like if one person is brought back to life, another person close to them has to die. Or if someone dies that was not predetermined by the fates, they can bring someone back. And some people even believe that a murderer can give up their life for one that they have killed. I knew exactly what he was asking. "I know a little, mostly legend though, why?" He seemed to deflate a little, "No special reason, just curious. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Annabeth will want to obsesses over departure plans and all that." After that he turned and jogged back to cabin one where he would more than likely slip back into bed with Thalia and tell her everything was okay. Everything obviously was not okay, but that wasn't my relationship, it wasn't my place to intrude, 'Like hey Thalia your boyfriend wants to kill himself, but everything's okay though.' 


	31. Chapter 31 Luke

I woke up next to Thalia, like I usually did. She was curled up against my chest, her black hair had grown a bit, it was about chin length now. I brushed it out of her eyes and let my hand linger on her cheek. Today I will be leaving for Ogygia, and I'm not sure if I'll ever make it back. Now don't take that last statement to be my way of expressing my anxiety of the dangers of the quest. I am no coward and I don't think the quest will be dangerous at all, a simple search and rescue.

I had been thinking for a while now, that I don't belong here. Every night I had nightmares, nightmares of Tartarus, nightmares of killing Leo, nightmares of the others hunting me down. They may say that they have accepted me, but my gut keeps telling me that's a lie. I broke up their family, I took Leo away from them forever. It may have not actually been me, but they watched as my body cut him down.

I'm almost positive there's a way that I can bring him back. There is a delicate balance between life and death, maybe with Nico's help I can find a way to bring Leo back. Which bring me back to not returning to camp halfblood. I was still looking at Thalia, I don't think I could leave her. Sure I have Annabeth and Percy, they're like family at this point, but Thalia, she's the one that my death would affect the most. But she's strong, stronger than most people.

I gave her one last kiss on the forehead before getting out of bed.

I met the others by the Argo II. Nico climbed up the ladder first, and I followed him up. When I got to the top it brought back memories. Memories of when I first came aboard this ship. I almost killed Percy, well Tartarus almost killed Percy but the memory still made me want to throw up. I went to the side of the ship just in case I actually did hurl. I looked over the side and saw Percy standing at the bottom holding his family. It was beautiful, sometimes I forget that for about a year I was his mentor, and for years before that I was a big brother figure to her. Now they are married with twins, granted they're younger than the average married couple but it still amazes me.

He kissed them all on the head one by one the hesitantly climbed up the ladder to join us. When he got on board he placed the navigation piece into Festus, clicked a few buttons and without a word walked below deck. Nico sighed, "It must be hard to leave your family for the first time. It's probably smart to give him some space." I nodded, "He's really grown up these past few months. I just hope that he doesn't lose his sassy edge." Nico just laughed, "Oh I wouldn't worry about that, Percy while be the sass king for the remainder of his life. I do see what you mean though, his maturity level has skyrocketed. But that's what becoming responsible for two little humans will do to you." With that he shrugged and sat down with a book.

This would be a great time to ask talk to him about the whole Leo thing. I walked over and sat down next to him. I was preparing what I was going to say in my head, and I realized there was no easy way to ask if I could kill myself to bring back Leo. After a few minutes I figured I'd just give it my best shot, I turned to Nico but he cut me off, "You know I could see you and Thalia with a cute family like that. You might not do it as soon as Percy and Annabeth but I could see you guys having one someday."

Those words hit me like a truck. All the sudden I could see it, the future I tried to tell myself I didn't want. Thalia in a wedding dress, her pregnant, our kids, all of it. I put my head in my hands, was I willing to give up those chances. Would I be selfish to want those things, when Leo sat in the underworld with no chance to be the one he loved. He was ripped away from her just as their love was discovered. I had my time with Thalia, maybe I should give Leo his time.

He sacrificed his life, and his future for Percy, maybe it's my turn. My hands were running through my hair, my body rigid. I felt a slight pressure on my arm, it was Nico's arm. "It's going to be okay Luke. I know you're struggling right now, but believe me, death is not the answer, in fact it's never the answer. I've thought about suicide before, multiple times. It just seemed like the best solution. I felt like an outsider, I felt alone. I had lost my mom, my sister, and well I was involved in a one way relationship. I thought me being a decedent of the god of the underworld, maybe that's where I belonged. Like maybe I was meant to be with the dead. But I'm so glad I didn't. Life has gotten better, like a million times better. I'm in my first real relationship, I've been brought into this group and accepted me as family. I know you have skeletons in the closet, so do I. Once a while back I betrayed Percy, he was mad for a while, but he's a very forgiving person."

I didn't realize it but apparently a few tears had slid down my cheeks, I quickly wiped them away, "Thanks man, I know we've never really talked before but you... you're really a great guy." He smiled, "Well maybe lately, I used to be a pain in the ass."

Percy came back above deck and checked the navigation system. "It says the trip will take about four days, so get comfortable." Nico raised his eyebrows, "Whatever you say grumpy gills." Percy paused, I thought he was about to rip him a new one, but his scowl softened into a smile. "I sound so old! Dude I haven't even been a dad a year yet. Hopefully it'll get easier, you know the stress, leaving them." He took a seat on the other side of Nico. "I just want the quest to be over and done with as soon as possible."


End file.
